So, you think your council is just there to deliver services locally? It's simply about public sector leadership in your area. Well, think again.

Local government in the 21st century, just went global, according to the latest pamphlet from the SOLACE Foundation Imprint (SFI), Global places, local forces. So, with so much going on at home, the real question is: Why? And it's not just a question for the SFI. More crucially, it is a question for local council taxpayers who face rising bills and expect their cash to pay for council services to be delivered locally.

There are a number of reasons for international work, from sharing best practice to tackling international problems with a local solution. But if you think this is a new colonialism, teaching other countries how to run their local government, then think again. This is very much a two-way street.

In an increasingly-global society, with all the global economics and rapid migration which come as a consequence, the pamphlet explains what is in it for us. Edited by former COSLA chief executive, Oonagh Aitken, the pamphlet seeks to explain why councils should be involved. She writes: ‘Local government, in its work overseas, can shape the wider and deeper political agendas and objectives that concern national government. This is the direction we must travel in'

SOLACE president and chief executive of Cardiff CC, Byron Davies, is well known for his international perspective. He explains how Cardiff used regeneration in Baltimore and Toronto as a blueprint for its own cityscape improvements.

He encourages other local government practitioners to ‘look outwards and use their expertise in sharing best practice to assist the ongoing development work of international partners'.

He adds: ‘New migration flows are combining with changing patterns of consumption to create an array of challenges and opportunities for local government.' But, he accepts that sceptics still see international work as ‘an optional extra' for local government.

Richard Shaw, chief executive of Surrey CC, says: ‘International development is relevant to us all locally. In our ever-smaller world, sustainable international development is not just a moral issue that cannot be ignored. It is a matter of local self-interest.' He argues that many problems facing the world don't respect national borders. Conflicts with international refugees must be tackled by local government. International terrorism and crime are global issues with a local impact. And diseases such as HIV/Aids and pandemic flu, and, of course, climate change, don't stop respect international boundaries.

Mr Shaw adds: ‘I am in no doubt that UK local government stands to gain enormously from the perspective and experience which are to be gained from purposeful relationships with local authorities overseas.' And, for those still in doubt, Mr Davies quotes communities and local government secretary, Hazel Blears, speaking and the SOLACE annual conference in October.  He writes: ‘She had no hesitation in confirming that it was a mainstream responsibility of local authorities to embrace internationalism and assist in managing the economic, environmental and social affects of global forces on behalf of their citizens and communities.'

Perhaps, most convincingly, Peter Russell, deputy adviser to the Lord Provost, and Gillian Walsh, international officer at Glasgow City Council, quote research work on international working. ‘Professor Michael Parkinson's findings that the most competitive  cities in Europe are those which have a civic international agenda or "foreign policy",' they write. ‘So focused international activity by cities contributes to competitive performance and cities outside the UK are looking to increase their global profile.'

For copies of Global places and local forces, and other SFI pamphlets, see the SOLACE Foundation Imprint website