Proposed by Councillor Green

Seconded by Councillor Mrs Rennie

(1)  This Council welcomes the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, giving central government a duty to assist local authorities with new powers and opportunities to promote sustainable and successful local communities and neighbourhoods.

(2)  Furthermore, Council welcomes the cross-party support for the Act in the House of Commons and supports Nick Hurd MP in his concerns that “the decline and loss of local services is having a clear and serious impact on the prosperity of local communities”.  Locally, in Wirral, this can be seen over many years, under all Governments, in the decisions by a variety of agencies, quangos, public sector organisations and Government departments to reduce or remove local services such as:

• Over half of Wirral post offices closed
• Wards 6 & 7 at Victoria Central Hospital closed
• Remploy’s CCU closed
• Closure of Withens Lane College

(3)  This Council recognises the duty for Government to produce a local spending plan that details the overall spending of taxes in an area and welcomes the ‘local policy proposal’ of the Act giving local communities the opportunity, through their council, to put forward ambitious local policy proposals within the overall spending limits.

(4)  This Council therefore requests that Cabinet ‘opts in’ to the Sustainable Communities Act and requests from the Community and Customer Engagement Overview and Scrutiny Committee a detailed plan and recommendation for Cabinet on how Wirral will move forward to determine the nature and level of assistance from Central Government.

Proposed by Councillor Green

Seconded by Councillor Mrs Rennie

(1)  This Council welcomes the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, giving central government a duty to assist local authorities with new powers and opportunities to promote sustainable and successful local communities and neighbourhoods.

(2)  Furthermore, Council welcomes the cross-party support for the Act in the House of Commons and supports Nick Hurd MP in his concerns that “the decline and loss of local services is having a clear and serious impact on the prosperity of local communities”.  Locally, in Wirral, this can be seen over many years, under all Governments, in the decisions by a variety of agencies, quangos, public sector organisations and Government departments to reduce or remove local services such as:

Over half of Wirral post offices closed

Wards 6 & 7 at Victoria Central Hospital closed

Remploy’s CCU closed

Closure of Withens Lane College

(3)  This Council recognises the duty for Government to produce a local spending plan that details the overall spending of taxes in an area and welcomes the ‘local policy proposal’ of the Act giving local communities the opportunity, through their council, to put forward ambitious local policy proposals within the overall spending limits.

(4)  This Council therefore requests that Cabinet ‘opts in’ to the Sustainable Communities Act and requests from the Community and Customer Engagement Overview and Scrutiny Committee a detailed plan and recommendation for Cabinet on how Wirral will move forward to determine the nature and level of assistance from Central Government.

Amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7(3)

Proposed by Councillor Kelly

Seconded by Councillor Holbrook

Delete paragraphs (2) (3) and (4) and insert:

(2)  Council notes that the Act became law in October 2007 with a cross-party campaign led by David Drew MP (Labour), Nick Hurd MP (Conservative) and Julia Goldsworthy MP (Lib Dem) and supports the bottom-up process in the Sustainable Communities Act designed to allow local authorities and their communities to drive the help that central government gives in reversing community decline and promoting thriving, sustainable communities by giving local authorities the power to make proposals to government on the action government must take to reverse community decline and promote sustainable communities, and argues for a transfer of public money and function from central to local control.

(3)  Council notes that the Act defines the sustainability of local communities broadly as:

the improvement of the local economy;

protection of the environment;

promotion of social inclusion; and

participation in civic and political activity.

(4)  Council notes the possible benefits of choosing to opt into the Act:

(i)  Assistance from government - the Act gives government a legal duty 'to assist local authorities in promoting the sustainability of local communities'.  So by 'opting in' local authorities are signing up to receive that 'assistance'.

(ii)  Power to determine that assistance - the Act gives local authorities power to determine the nature of the assistance that they receive from government.

(iii)  Transferring functions and monies from central to local control - the Act enables local authorities to request, via the LGA, the transfer of functions from government or government agencies to themselves.

(iv)  access to Central Spending Accounts Information - the requirement in the Act for the government to 'open the books' means that local authorities will know how much extra money they can access if they push for a transfer of functions.

Add new paragraph:

(5)  Council requests officers to conduct an options appraisal on all of the implications of opting into the Act, and report back to the relevant Council committees and the Cabinet.

Further amendment:

Proposed by Councillor Foulkes

Seconded by Councillor Phil Davies

Delete all paragraphs after the first paragraph and insert:

(2)  This Council notes the sudden conversion of the Conservative Party, locally and nationally, to the concept of Community, famously denied when they were previously in power.  Council further questions whether this conversion is purely altruistic or merely a cynical vote-catching exercise aimed at marginal wards or constituencies.

(3)  Council notes the concern expressed by the Conservatives over the loss of services in the Wallasey Constituency, while failing to recognise new initiatives which benefit the community such as the setting up of new children’s centres and the regeneration of the Floral Pavilion, much loved by the community, as well as initiatives such as the Millennium Centre in Leasowe and the new and refurbished PFI schools.

(4)  Council recognises that work has already begun on strengthening community involvement with the introduction of the “You Decide” initiative and the participatory budgeting scheme, which give local people real choice on how local authority money is spent in their area, in addition to the Community Fund initiatives already in place for use by the local Area Forums, the Youth Parliament and the Older People’s Parliament.

(5)  None the less, Council welcomes the cross-party support for the Act in the House of Commons and reaffirms its belief in the importance of Sustainable Communities.

(6)  Council therefore asks that a report be taken to the Cabinet which outlines the latest position on the Act and the regulations governing its implementation and sets out the benefits, financial implications, procedures and timescale for making any community representations to Government for consideration by the agreed selector.

Having applied the guillotine in according with Standing Order 7(8), the Council did not debate this matter.

The first amendment was put and carried unanimously.  The second amendment was put and carried (37:22).

Resolved (37:22):  That

(1)  This Council welcomes the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, giving central government a duty to assist local authorities with new powers and opportunities to promote sustainable and successful local communities and neighbourhoods.

(2)  This Council notes the sudden conversion of the Conservative Party, locally and nationally, to the concept of Community, famously denied when they were previously in power.  Council further questions whether this conversion is purely altruistic or merely a cynical vote-catching exercise aimed at marginal wards or constituencies.

(3)  Council notes the concern expressed by the Conservatives over the loss of services in the Wallasey Constituency, while failing to recognise new initiatives which benefit the community such as the setting up of new children’s centres and the regeneration of the Floral Pavilion, much loved by the community, as well as initiatives such as the Millennium Centre in Leasowe and the new and refurbished PFI schools.

(4)  Council recognises that work has already begun on strengthening community involvement with the introduction of the “You Decide” initiative and the participatory budgeting scheme, which give local people real choice on how local authority money is spent in their area, in addition to the Community Fund initiatives already in place for use by the local Area Forums, the Youth Parliament and the Older People’s Parliament.

(5)  None the less, Council welcomes the cross-party support for the Act in the House of Commons and reaffirms its belief in the importance of Sustainable Communities.

(6)  Council therefore asks that a report be taken to the Cabinet which outlines the latest position on the Act and the regulations governing its implementation and sets out the benefits, financial implications, procedures and timescale for making any community representations to Government for consideration by the agreed selector.