Scrapping of central targets long overdue - Town Hall leaders

29 June 2009

Ahead of the Prime Minister's expected announcement this afternoon on public sector reform and the easing of central government targets, Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the Local Government Association, said:

"Town halls have long called for a bonfire of red tape and central targets to free them up to focus on what matters locally. Form-filling, box-ticking and central micro-management has wasted too much time and too much money for too long.

"Councils have made huge improvements over the past decade and strong performance management has been vital in delivering this. But these targets are no longer fit for purpose and are stifling further improvements. This is a step in the right direction and the LGA will work with ministers to ensure reform benefits local people.

"Town hall leaders know their local areas and know what is needed. Centralised targets have simply prevented councils from making sure that the right services are provided to the right people at the right time.

"Councils will be aware that these commitments have been made before. Making this a reality will require a genuine commitment from Westminster and Whitehall to end the culture of central monitoring, control and micro-management which has persisted despite previous reforms."

The LGA has today called for a major programme of reform to give millions of voters more local control over vital public services from health and social care to economic development.

The manifesto for a new politics is published as hundreds of elected councillors gather for their annual conference. It proposes a string of measures designed to give local people a greater say about how Britain is governed.

Proposals to give voters a greater say over how services are run locally include:

- Giving locally-elected councillors the power to propose national legislation at Westminster, and guaranteeing time for debate.
- Increasing the services voters can choose to be delivered in their area by giving councils a power to provide any public services not explicitly reserved for national government
- Rolling back the Quango state

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