Local government minister, Phil Woolas, has hailed ‘a new era of devolution', with the signing of the last 62 Local Area Agreements (LAAs) in England. The final 62 LAAs were signed by the secretary of state, Ruth Kelly, at a ceremony in London on Thursday, and Mr Woolas said every area in England now had its own LAA, setting out details of what councils and key partners would deliver to local people. ‘We are ready to gear up for a new era of devolution,' Mr Woolas told The MJ. ‘A week after the general election in 2005, we took the decision to put our foot on the accelerator and get an LAA in every local authority by the end of this financial year, and we have achieved that. ‘This is by no means the end of the story,' added Mr Woolas. ‘New proposals for LAAs are at the heart of our devolutionary agenda for local government. They give councils the ability to tackle the most important challenges in their areas, while reducing the number of centrally-set targets.' From 2008, councils will be able to use all non ring-fenced money to achieve LAA outcomes. The local government White Paper also includes the opportunity for councils to sign multi-area agreements with other councils, which Mr Woolas said was a ‘fantastic development'. ‘The multi-area agreement will allow those areas, that wish to do so, to share targets with other areas. ‘Multi-area agreements recognise the indisputable face that economies do not follow local authority boundaries. It's symptomatic of a coming of age for local authorities.'
