Localism – What does that mean?

It’s something I’d rather not be asked by someone with a questioning mind.  Should it be a relief that the Government is in the same boat?  Or, to wrap it up in the more formal language of the newly published Report on Localism from the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee, there’s a ‘lack of clarity about the nature of localism . . . The Government should be explicit about the choices it has made about what type of localism it wants to pursue.’  Putting it another way ‘the actions the Government has set out so far, both in the Localism Bill and in the programmes of individual departments, give an overall impression of inconsistency and incoherence.’

And the Committee is sceptical on how far the ‘Big Society’ can take over statutory services.  Launching the report, Chair of the Committee Clive Betts said: “Lots of small voluntary groups do an excellent job for their communities but many face cuts to their funding. Communities vary in the time, skills and resources they have at their disposal, and so there is a risk of some faring much better than others. We cannot assume community groups will want to move into core service provision”.

An annex to the report reveals that the Committee was helped to these sensible conclusions by a visit to Devon.  Here’s a taste of what they were told:

At St Petrock’s Centre in Exeter, ‘The trustees commented that the community right to challenge sounds time-consuming, and they are wary of damaging relationships with the local authority by launching ‘challenges’ to their services.’

Dulverton Town Council, a national pilot for local budgeting, told the Committee: ‘“Dulverton is volunteered out—you’re not getting any more volunteers out of this town.” There is a limited supply of people who are willing to take on broader community responsibilities beyond their own personal interests, and there is only so much that town councillors can take on.’

Chudleigh ‘Community representatives argued that “the Big Society already exists”, and that heaping more responsibilities onto existing volunteers will not work, nor will trying to do things without funding. The time of volunteers and the practical support from the district council in the development of the Parish Plan has not been costed’.

Exeter CVS reported a changing pattern in volunteering, adding that ‘Volunteering is generally more prevalent in already wealthy areas, however. A free market approach to localism will not work without some community development in the areas where there is less social capital.’  And St Sidwell’s Community Centre, also in Exeter, reminded the Committee of the importance of community development work: ‘Facilitation is necessary to help the community bridge the gap to the statutory sector. Cutting funding for community development workers would distance the community further from local government.’

So it’s not surprising that one of the report’s conclusions is that ‘the chances of localism transforming the way the country is governed may be hampered at the outset by a lack of resources to prime the pump by building community capacity. Localism is a goal worth pursuing no matter what the fiscal circumstances, but realism is needed about how fundamental change will be achieved without resources to support it.’

Yes, indeed.