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Councils to get new ‘devolutionary’ powers
New devolutionary powers are to be handed out to councils in a bid to improve local government’s public satisfaction ratings.
Measures contained in the ‘local government and public involvement in health’ bill, which is currently passing through parliament, will give councils new means of engaging communities and tackling local issues.
These include new powers for parish councils to fix byelaws and issue £80 fines to those who break them.
Local people will also be given new powers to call their council to account on local issues through a ‘community call for action’. In addition, councils will be encouraged to provide councillors with small budgets to address local issues quickly.
The changes follow a survey which found that only 54 per cent of the population are satisfied with the way their council runs their area.
Local government minister Phil Woolas said: "These new figures show we cannot take the public for granted, we must find new ways to engage with people and meet their ambition.
"That is why we are devolving unprecedented levels of power through our new ‘community call for action’, greater community management and ownership of assets and more powers for frontline councillors to give people a greater voice," he added.
