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Shadow local government secretary, Caroline Flint outlines Labour's strategy for dealing with the Localism Bill as it makes its way through Parliament in the next few months. For many communities and local authorities, 2011 looks like being the most challenging year in decades. On the one hand, the Government is promising councils greater freedom from Whitehall, yet on the other, it is hitting many areas with the biggest cuts in a generation. The suspicion is this year will see communities secretary, Eric Pickles, and the Government trying to use their localism agenda, supported by the Localism Bill, as a smokescreen for the big cuts they are imposing on town halls and local communities. Of course, giving more power to councils and residents is great in theory, but it rings hollow when at the same time, the coalition is cutting local government budgets by 27% over the next four years. Local authorities are facing a total funding shortfall of £6.5bn in the next two years – and so it's impossible to disassociate the Government's Localism Bill from the financial settlement. At least the Government now admits that the front-loaded cuts it is making to council budgets are a deliberate strategy. Shortly after announcing the local government settlement, Mr Pickles told the CLG select committee that the amount of front-loading was ‘very important to encourage local government to deal with the question of restructuring'. That's like offering neighbourhoods devolution and decentralisation while holding a gun to their heads, and is not the most sensible way to reform. Whatever Mr Pickles says, localism alone will not stop the cuts to frontline services – the roads that will go unrepaired, the potholes that will go unfixed, the streets left unswept, the youth clubs and libraries that will shut down... Let's be clear though – the Labour Party is not against localism. In fact, localism and the community are at the core of Labour's DNA – from the co-operative movement to the self-help traditions of the Rochdale pioneers and Christian socialism of the Welsh valleys. We championed devolution in government, and we support giving people a greater say in the way their local communities and services are run. We want to see councils which are flexible, innovative and modern. In government, we introduced Total Place, giving local areas additional freedoms, cutting bureaucracy and management. We started the process of cutting back on ring-fenced budgets, inspections and central targets. And of course, it was a Labour Government which gave people the power to directly elect mayors. We believe those working on the ground, close to where the problems are happening, know where the solutions can be found. They understand the fears and concerns of a community, and its hopes and aspirations. Beyond a reasonably-set national minimum standard, local authorities should have the flexibility to reflect the priorities of the communities they serve, and to work with their partners to design and deliver services tailored to their own local needs. So, we'll agree with some aspects of the Localism Bill, where it builds on reforms we made to local government over the last few years. But, as business secretary, Vince Cable, said in his now-notorious conversations with two undercover journalists, the worry is the Conservatives are attempting some kind of ‘Maoist revolution' in local government, and haven't actually thought through the consequences of their plans. There is absolutely no guarantee that forcing through a ‘let a thousand flowers bloom' approach while hoping that local people pick up the slack vacated by the state will bring better or more efficient local services which, after all, should be the priority of any government. The concern will also be that the most vocal, those with the time and experience to involve themselves in the running of local community services, will be handed more power at the expense of those who, for various reasons, are less able or likely to get involved. Allowing local voluntary groups to prosper and talk of a Big Society is all well and good, but the speed and depth of the cuts the Government has chosen to make will also impact heavily on the voluntary sector. According to the National Survey of Third Sector Organisations, almost one-third of third sector organisations rely on local authority funding. When many are so reliant on this, far from liberating community groups, the voluntary sector and charities to do more, as the Government is promising in the Localism Bill, they may be so hampered by the cuts they end up doing less. We are sceptical too about the Government's commitment to localism. At the same time as preaching it, Mr Pickles and his ministerial team can't resist telling councils what to do, issuing orders to councils on pay, bin collections, council newspapers and even dictating how they should be celebrating Christmas. They are happy to champion localism as long as councils do what they tell them – including forcing communities into having shadow elected mayors, whether they want them or not, as set out in the Localism Bill. So, we have a range of concerns about how realistic and affordable many of the plans contained within the Bill are, and about the many contradictions that are emerging since publication. What is a council to do if residents vote against a rise in council tax but then a community votes in favour in another local referendum to keep a costly local facility from closing? What is the legal definition of communities? If community groups are making big decisions, including how public money is spent, who will manage and oversee safeguards to ensure probity and accountability? As the Bill goes through Parliament, it's Labour's job to ask for answers to these questions – and more, and to look at all of the Government's proposals. We want to make sure that any reform is in the best interest of council taxpayers, and the people and communities who rely on vital local services. Over the next few months, we'll be making the case that the partnerships between local government and other organisations should be at the heart of a decentralised, localised society – but that power must always rest in the hands of the many, and not the few. Caroline Flint is shadow communities and local government secretary

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WHITEHALL

The questions Labour will ask on the Localism Bill

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