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Plans announced by Hazel Blears last week to give neighbourhoods power over council budgets are ‘nothing new'. This is the view of two pioneering councils, which have had what the secretary of state described as ‘neighbourhood kitties' for nearly two years. Using the blueprint of a scheme first pioneered in Porto Alegre in Brazil, Ms Blears wants to give communities the ability to take control of budgets worth up to £20m through community-led debates, neighbourhood votes and public meetings. This includes training for local people on how council budgets work and how priorities are set. But this follows the model already in place in Harrow. Harrow LBC's director of people, performance and policy Paul Najsarek said the council was enthusiastic about Ms Blears' plans to launch the pilot projects across England, but pointed out that the council had followed precisely this model of budgeting for nearly two years. ‘We even followed the Porto Alegre model, and the DCLG knew what we were doing' Mr Najsarek told The MJ. He said at times the model had been hard to follow, but lessons had been learned and the scheme could be implemented elsewhere. ‘Councils must understand residents and vice versa to make this work,' he added. Gloucester City Council is also ahead of the game after setting up a peoples' budget two years ago, allowing local people the chance to decide on spending priorities in their areas. Sir Simon Milton, chairman of the LGA, agreed that many councils were already working on ‘innovative pilot schemes', which encourage local people's involvement. ‘Councils are committed to giving residents more power and a greater say over what happens in their local area.'

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WHITEHALL

Blears' ideas are 'old hat' say pioneering councils

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