Communities secretary, Hazel Blears, is inviting residents to have their say in how ‘community kitties' should be used to decide local spending and service priorities. Ms Blears has published a draft consultation on ways in which communities can be given a more direct say on funding local initiatives to tackle crime or reduce obesity through the introduction of ‘participatory budgeting' which, she hopes, will be introduced by all councils by 2012. The community kitties, or participatory budgeting idea, was pioneered in Brazil, where researchers have found the scheme helps boost public satisfaction, improve local services and enhance community cohesion and civic pride. A total of 22 councils has agreed to pilot local schemes ranging from the £1m Bradford Vision project to decide spending on liveability issues to Sunderland's People's Fund initiative, which has a £50,000 budget for spending on youth services and Salford's £100,000 highways fund. ‘Local people who use services day-in, day-out know how they need to be improved, whether it's tackling gangs and crime, giving young people places to play or improving leisure activities and the local environment,' said Ms Blears. ‘Community kitties don't just lead to better services, they give local people the opportunity to influence the future of the place where they live, generate civic pride and bring our communities together with a common purpose.'
