New Local

Going to the Local Government Association conference next week? Join our fringe event to consider how community-led approaches can build thriving neighbourhoods. We'll draw together a range of perspectives on effective neighbourhood working, and focus on practical examples of what works. And we'll be joined by a panel of brilliant speakers 🌟 Jane Ashworth OBE, Patrick Melia OBE, Matt Leach and Portland Inn Project's Anna Francis. To RSVP, please email events@newlocal.org.uk 📨

"We want to go further, give communities more power so that can be stronger and more resilient. Those building blocks that make up a community, those spaces that local people love and value." "And we hope that far more of those spaces will be community-owned, and that any community who wants to run an asset for the community has the best possible chance to do it. Crucially friends, once we give communities that power, it can’t just be taken away. Those assets belong to the community, their fate is in the community’s hands. They can’t just be taken away." Important words as Angela Rayner champions community ownership, and We're Right Here landmark Community Right to Buy legislation in her Co-operative Party speech. 💪 https://lnkd.in/ehNVMNYp

We are pleased to be one of 47 organisations and experts supporting The Association Of Directors of Public Health (UK)'s call for the government to increase funding for public health. Signed by our chair Katie Kelly, this letter to the Prime Minister and Chancellor makes the case for investing in health and wellbeing as the foundation on which to build social and economic prosperity, and for increased investment at the local level. Read in full 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9FkTHFw #PublicHealth #SocialDeterminants #HealthInequalities #AutumnBudget

"With a tight fiscal backdrop and amid increasingly polarised communities, devolution should move beyond technocratic functionality and embed meaningful participation and dialogue in decision-making." Jessica Studdert‬ on renewing the #devo agenda 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ehY28puN TheMJ #Devolution #CommunityParticipation #DevoDeals #CommunityPower

📣 A practitioner’s guide to meaningful youth engagement The global youth population has reached record heights. Of the roughly 8 billion people on earth, 42% are under 25. Youth participation, then, shouldn't be a simple checkbox exercise. Yet, a recent study found that up to a third of young people feel frustrated with the process of engaging with local government. And an OECD study found that only 37% of people below 30 are confident that their government acts to benefit their and future generations. In this guide by Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab), you'll discover: ✅ The key ingredients for sustainable youth engagement ✅ Effective topics and methods for engaging young people ✅ How to effectively reach your target audience Take a look 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCbifkUE

A few thoughts on English devo in my latest TheMJ column… the agenda is dominated by the question of governance, while the role of scale for impact in policy & delivery is under-recognised. There is a value in national, regional, local and neighbourhood levels for impact of decisionmaking & investment across different services & policy areas- health, family support, work, welfare, education, skills etc. We need to develop a shared understanding of this: what is universal/strategic/one size fits all and what is local/hyperlocal/ needs to be highly adaptable to circumstances? Working towards a single Whitehall view in this would be helpful… https://lnkd.in/eCYrpDpY

A few thoughts on English devo in my latest TheMJ column… the agenda is dominated by the question of governance, while the role of scale for impact in policy & delivery is under-recognised. There is a value in national, regional, local and neighbourhood levels for impact of decisionmaking & investment across different services & policy areas- health, family support, work, welfare, education, skills etc. We need to develop a shared understanding of this: what is universal/strategic/one size fits all and what is local/hyperlocal/ needs to be highly adaptable to circumstances? Working towards a single Whitehall view in this would be helpful… https://lnkd.in/eCYrpDpY

"Yimby campaigners like to present themselves as plucky upstarts, battling widespread animus over new development, but in fact recent polling showed that 80-85% of Britons would be happy to support new homes in their area, provided basic conditions were met. Where resistance to new housing exists, it is not usually motivated by stereotypical nimby prejudice, but a clear-sighted awareness of local services at breaking point." Phineas Harper FRIBA chiming with the message of our community-powered regeneration report is (still under construction but hopefully the blueprint of a better system).

🗞 Read all about it! Did you know that 4.7 million people live in local news deserts? With local news swallowed up by multinationals, written by AI or disappearing completely, we brought together people from two pillars of local democracy - councils and local news outlets - to look at how we reverse the decline and create a flourishing local news landscape. Because, as Jonathan Heawood put it, "everyone should have journalism that speaks to, for and with them". We're so pleased to be working with Public Interest News Foundation on this work that will feed into their national enquiry. If you want to feed in, get in touch! 📰 https://lnkd.in/eJm-ndwJ

Enjoyed a whirlwind few days in Liverpool for Labour Party Conference this week: a few thoughts on where we are with our new governing party. Lots has been said about the cautious optimistic vibe at Conference- lots of new ministers & MPs understandably pleased to take stock with their core base and engage the wide pool of delegate stakeholders after a momentous few months. It was great to catch up with and hear from a few new Ministers in key positions, for local government. Jim McMahon (pictured) is about the best qualified Local Govt Minister ever: he has a deep understanding of the challenges & opportunities facing the sector and is a big community power advocate. The similarly expert Sharon Taylor demonstrated her detailed grasp of local government finance at the Localis (think tank) fringe. Georgia Gould has an exciting brief including pubic sector reform in the Cabinet Office - there is lots of scope for place-based coordination & renewed Whitehall approach to local gov across a CO and MHCLG nexus. A few thoughts on what’s next for local government policy: - Of course, all eyes are on the 30th October Autumn Budget. It will just cover one year and expectations are being downplayed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some new funding was identified for the local govt sector. It’s fully understood how dire the financial straits are. - If this year’s fiscal event is about emergency stop gap measures, it’s the three year spending review in 2025 we should look towards for more radical reform potential that can maximise the opportunity of longer term funding certainty, such as looking at the role of place-based budgets, which New Local has been advocating. - It feels likely that the Govt will look at the distribution of existing funding to local government, with needs-based funding/formulae potentially back on the table, especially in the context of rolling disparate grants into one single allocation. One to watch. - Devolution is here to stay: the Govt is determined to press ahead with new deals, and isn’t tolerant of ‘difficult’ geographies. Now the Labour mayors have their party mirror in national office, so I would expect the agenda to deepen as quickly as it also widens. Will public service reform be on the table? Any fiscal devo prospect? These are all up for grabs in my opinion & demand a strong, compelling case to be made, including clear local govt role within wider. - The future of community power looks bright, with the English Devo Bill (successor to the Take Back Control Bill idea) looking at community ownership rights, community governance and potentially also participation in service design. I came away optimistic. The challenge for local government is mirrored across our public services facing a series of crises. The new Government is settling in - while there is recognition there are no quick fixes, the nature of the challenge is understood and a determination to work openly with partners to navigate through is evident.