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Local authorities were this week given the centre stage spotlight by ministers in their battle to stave off the worst impacts of the recession. In a speech to county leaders, local government minister,John Healey, said the ‘new frontline is local with councils leading the response', and that the recession was ‘a big opportunity for local government to show local leadership'. But he also urged councils to use their wellbeing power to tackle the recession, complaining that only one in 12 were using it. His comments, at the County Councils Network conference in Oxford, came as the LGA published its own research into the impact of the downturn, and held a credit crunch summit. According to the association, more than 1.7m jobs would be scrapped in the next two years, but they would not be evenly spread across the country, and decisions about tackling the slow-down might have to be taken at local or regional levels. In its report From recession to recovery: The local dimension, the LGA claimed London was likely to bear the brunt of the recession, with 370,000 jobs lost, 7.9% of all jobs in the capital. Northern cities would be relatively well-placed to cope with the economic crisis, the report added. LGA chairman, Margaret Eaton, said: ‘It's clear that a national, one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with the recession simply isn't going to work.' She added: ‘With greater freedoms over transport, infrastructure, planning, economic development and skills, councils would be able to do even more for local people.' The LGA report was published as the chancellor, Alistair Darling, mulled over plans to inject cash into the UK economy through next week's pre-budget report. LGA sources said they were ‘hopeful' the chancellor would bring forward a £5bn package under the Building Schools for the Future programme, which would inject much-needed cash into local economies. The Treasury is also expected to announce direct support for low-income families, possibly through the tax credits system or through other tax breaks. It is also believed that the long-awaited sub-national review will be included in next month's Queen's Speech. Click here to download From recession to recovery: The local dimension Global slowdown: Local solutions, a collection of case studies on what councils are doing to tackle the recession is also available from the LGA.

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WHITEHALL

Councils set for key frontline crunch role

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