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Localism, localism, localism is the new mantra of the day, with a strong commitment from the coalition Government to place communities at the heart of decision-making. Good news for districts and the communities we serve. And the implied promise of a period of stability in local government to make the system work better – albeit with very limited resources to do so. Alan Goodrum is chief executive of Chiltern DC This is a crucial time at the District Councils Network. Membership is now 85% of all districts, and we can generally claim to be a representative voice for districts and that our voice is being listened to. We are still building up our resource base, but we now have a policy support officer who can provide some active support to our ideas. Our business plan is available on www.districtcouncils.info. And our manifesto, which has been the subject of much discussion and forms the basis of dialogue with ministers and senior civil servants, will be available at the LGA Conference. We are in a better position than we have ever been to get our points across and respond to Government proposals and requests for advice; for example the letter from Grant Shapps on ‘Reducing the Burdens on Local Government' has been the subject of a detailed response. We will be able to report more at the LGA Conference – visit our stand and for districts join us at the Assembly in the main plenary hall on Wednesday 7 July, if you will forgive the commercial. The central message of this contribution is: What are we waiting for? We were challenged on the same basis on Total Place by Lord Bichard: if we claim to be the leaders in our local area, don't wait for someone to give permission to do just that. Get on with it. The same must be said of localism – don't wait for someone else to define it, let's shape it and use it to open up possibilities rather than worry about its limitations. Districts have a great opportunity to step up to the plate. Let's show what we can do.

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WHITEHALL

District View

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