Sustainable Communities Act 2007: Update
After a five year campaign by a coalition group of over 90
national civic and environmental organisations called Local Works, the Sustainable
Communities Act 2007 was introduced to make provision for the promotion of sustainability
within local communities. The Act is based on the principle that local people know
what is required to encourage sustainability within their area. However, local communities
may still require assistance from the Government to progress this further. The Act
applies to all Local Authorities, which includes County Councils, and their respective
communities, in England.
In October 2007 a new statutory framework was created for councils to work with
local people and community groups to put forward proposals to improve economic,
environmental and social wellbeing. The framework enables decentralisation and reconfiguration
of public services and changes to the pattern of public spending in response
to local preferences.
The Act provides for a ‘Selector’ body, which is the Local Government Association
(LGA). The LGA consider and short-list proposals made under the Act. Proposals from
the final short-list are then approved by the Secretary of State for Communities
and Local Government,
after consultation with the LGA as the selector body, for
legislation.
The introduction of this Act has placed various duties upon the Secretary of State
including:
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publishing local spending reports, statements showing the
scope of public spending by all bodies exercising public functions in the area;
and
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publishing an action plan setting out decisions on proposals
and to report annually to Parliament on progress made as a result of this Act.
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There has been great interest from many local authorities
who wish to make sustainability improvements for members of their community. Over
200 proposals were submitted to the LGA in July 2009 including:
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Brighton and Hove City Council’s proposal to introduce food growing
as part of the national curriculum either on or off school sites. |
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Southwark Council’s proposal to allow local authorities to impose
civil penalties on freeholders, leaseholders or tenants as appropriate, for the
unlawful use of properties in order to cover the costs of planning enforcement. |
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Kettering Borough Council’s proposal to change the statutory powers
to allow local authorities to employ single teams of community wardens instead of
multiple teams. |
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Sheffield City Council’s proposal to allow asylum seekers the right
to work in the city once their application for asylum has been received. |
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Wiltshire County Council’s proposal is to
lower designated pavement kerbs to facilitate wheelchair users boarding and alighting
from vehicles and for the kerbs to be painted yellow to ensure that car drivers
are made aware not to park in front of them. |
There is no official or statutory timetable to shortlist
proposals under the Act, however the Selector Panel is keen to continue the momentum
that Authorities have generated and to shortlist proposals as quickly as possible.
The Selector Panel is currently considering
the proposals which have been submitted. It is expected that confirmation of the
shortlist and formal submission with recommendations for legislation will be made
to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in December 2009.
The timetable for the Government to consider the proposals with the LGA and to reach
agreement on which proposals to legislate is yet to be confirmed.
Monthly updates on the
progress of the submitted proposals will be provided in the Selector newsletter
and on the LGA website please see
www.lga.gov.uk.
In addition to
these activities there is parliamentary support for amendments to the Sustainable
Communities Act 2007. A Bill is proposed for the next Parliamentary session which
intends to seek changes in a number of key areas which, if successful could broaden
the application of the Act significantly. In summary the Bill seeks to:
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Introduce a rolling programme for bringing forward community driven initiatives
by agreement (rather than merely consultation) under the Act.
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Extend the Act to cover associations of parish councils.
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Stipulate parish council representation on SCA panels.
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Prompt a referendum if the Local Authority does not wish to participate in the Act
and 5% of electors sign a petition to use the Act.
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Extend published Local Spending Reports to include greater
financial information from a range of government bodies and departments.
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For further progress of the Bill please see
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/. |
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For More Information Contact:
Anjli Bhatt
TPP Law Limited
53 Great Suffolk Street
London SE1 ODB
t 020 7620 0888
f 020 7620 0778
e info@tpplaw.co.uk
Email: Anjli
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