Communities and Local Government (DCLG)
Communities and Local Government: our priorities
Decentralise power as far as possible
Through local government finance reforms and the Localism Act 2011, free local government (including Fire and Rescue Authorities) from central control; decentralise power; provide greater freedom and flexibilities to local government so that they can genuinely lead their communities and drive local growth Work with local leaders on local sustainable growth, community budgets, and tackling troubled families
Reinvigorate accountability, democracy and participation (including transparency)
Through the powers in the Localism Act 2011, trust people to take control of the decisions that affect them, support integration and enable the Big Society to flourish by creating community rights, devolving power, accountability and funding closer to neighbourhoods; increasing citizen participation, lifting burdens, empowering local people to hold services to account
Support and incentivise local sustainable growth
Give local leaders the tools to drive local sustainable growth through local enterprise partnerships, enterprise zones, city deals and elected mayors
Meet people’s housing aspirations
Through the Housing Strategy, provide support to get house building going again, take action to improve affordability and support aspiration, choice and quality for tenants; as well as tackling empty homes and seeking to improve the quality and sustainability of homes. Together these will spread opportunity and promote local growth
Put communities in charge of planning
Put local people and communities in charge of planning so they can determine the shape of the neighbourhoods in which they live, ensure that regulations support our ambition to drive sustainable economic growth and development, including our ambitions for a low carbon and green economy