Strong and prosperous communities: Local Govt White Paper
6 Nov 2006: The Department for Communities and Local Government published the Local Government White Paper 'Strong and prosperous communities’ on 26 Oct 2006.
We welcome the White Paper, which includes strong themes of community leadership, civic engagement and effective representation. Key elements of the White Paper for us include:
Enabling citizens and communities to have a greater say in the services they receive and in shaping the places in which they live;
A new framework for strategic leadership within local areas bringing together local partners; and
Local government becoming a strategic leader and a place-shaper.
6 Nov 2006: The Department for Communities and Local Government published the Local Government White Paper 'Strong and prosperous communities’ on 26 Oct 2006.
We welcome the White Paper, which includes strong themes of community leadership, civic engagement and effective representation. Key elements of the White Paper for us include:
Enabling citizens and communities to have a greater say in the services they receive and in shaping the places in which they live;
A new framework for strategic leadership within local areas bringing together local partners; and
Local government becoming a strategic leader and a place-shaper.
These themes within the white paper are at the heart of the learning programmes and knowledge/best practice dissemination which we undertake. Current work includes:
Research and best practice guides for Councils on how to improve community engagement;
Developing a training programme for community development workers to further develop their skills in engaging local communities in place making; and
Creating action learning programmes to support the delivery of Local Area Agreements, a key part of the White Paper proposals.
» For more details about this work, see the What we do section of this site
Underpinning this ambitious framework for the future of local government is a considerable skills challenge for local Councillors, Officers and community leaders. Unless we can work together to address this skills deficit we will not be able to achieve the ambitious agenda set out in the White Paper.
Dr Gill Taylor, our Chief Executive, commented:
"We look forward to working with the local government community to ensure it has the skills and knowledge to deliver the vision of the White Paper. As a former local authority Chief Executive, I am convinced that local government at its best can shape the places, people and economy which it serves. We are already in discussions with the Local Government Association, Local Government Leadership Centre and the Improvement and Development Agency."
