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One of the immutable laws of government is that in July, there is a plethora of White Papers and policy statements rushed out before the summer recess. And this year has been no exception;.But the style, direction and impact of these statements have been very different this year. Alan Goodrum is chief executive of Chiltern DC We can look forward to addressing the democratic deficit in policing through the election of commissioners. We will see, over the next few years, the biggest change in the provision of health services since 1948. Some of us will look back wistfully of building relationships from scratch with the soon-to-be-abandoned primary care trusts, and wonder quite how partnership working will work at the local level. But, if it works, the costs of change will be a price worth paying. The dismantling of regionalism does prove some particular challenges and opportunities at local level. The swiftness at which the ‘quango' landscape can change will surprise some, but structures are easy to dismantle – less easy to build. The joint letter on local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) from the secretaries of state [business] Vince Cable and [communities] Eric Pickles is worthy of serious study. It is important to work together, and there is a strategic leadership role for business and council leaders. The LEPs will cover planning and housing – but not too much please, local transport, infrastructure and employment, enterprise and the transition to a lower-carbon economy. The groupings will need to cover functional economic areas, and this is very much in tune with the localist and district agenda. But can we move away from the terminology that partnerships would include groups of ‘upper-tier authorities. Of course, counties and unitaries, as well as districts, have a major role to play, but let us not condemn a major part of local government to the subterranean levels. The one White Paper which did not come out before the summer was the one on sub-regional economic growth. We look forward to it, but won't wait for it. The message to business and all councils is to get on with developing future economic areas and start moving these local enterprise partnerships forward. I know from contacts both locally in the Thames Valley and nationally that the Government should be heartened by the enthusiasm of the response. Alan Goodrum is chief executive of Chiltern DC

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WHITEHALL

District View

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