“Councillors on the Frontline”

Steve Reed Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mr Steve Reed (Croydon North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Madam Chairman. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) and his Committee on their report. I am delighted to take part in this debate. It is very important to me, as I believe that I am the most recently arrived former council leader in the House. I also had the huge honour of serving as deputy chairman of the Local Government Association until I came here nine months ago.

From my experience, I can confirm what the report says: that the role of the councillor is changing fast. It is becoming much more demanding, not least because the expectations of citizens and Government are increasing at a time when resources are dramatically reducing in ways that no one involved in local government can remember in their professional lives. Councillors give up a huge amount of their time to help make their communities better places in which to live or work, and that causes, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield South East mentioned, problems for them in their work and home lives. I had the experience that he had also heard of: a councillor came to me when I was leader of the council in Lambeth and said that she had been told to remove her experience as a councillor from her CV to help her get a job.

If that is how the world views the role of the councillor, it behoves all of us involved in public life to help change that reputation and promote the truth of the matter, which is that the role helps develop skills and abilities that are of immense value elsewhere in individuals’ working lives. It would be good if more employers understood that and if the Government reinforced it, by treating councillors more like military reservists and perhaps promoting the idea that they should be given time off to carry out their important work.

I agree that we need a much more diverse and representative group of councillors representing our communities. We need more women, more young people and more people from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. During my time as leader of the opposition in Lambeth, up until 2006, we ran a three-year programme that identified people from precisely those groups, offering them shadowing, mentoring and training, and supporting them to stand as councillors. We were delighted in 2006 when that bore fruit, with the biggest increase in BME representation anywhere in the country that year. That model has been used by all parties in other places but, sadly, it is not yet used everywhere. I commend the LGA for its work, through the Be a Councillor campaign, to extend such models.

To return to my point about the need to promote the positive role of councillors, I immensely regret that the Government are doing the opposite of what is needed by denigrating councillors’ work. Certainly the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government seems to take great delight in misleading people about the work done by councillors and insulting their work, which is enormously regrettable.

The Secretary of State’s proposal to abolish councillors’ pensions is nothing short of spiteful, especially given that he, as a Member of Parliament, is fully aware that he is very nicely sorted out in that respect. Councillors’ remuneration is certainly not excessive. The average payment to a councillor is £7,000 per annum. I do not think that that over-compensates them for their work and the time and potential income, if they are self-employed or employed, that they give up to carry out their important role.

We certainly do not want a situation in which the only people who can afford to be councillors are the retired, people on benefits or the wealthy. We need more people who are working hard and have young families to sit on our councils and influence decisions affecting the whole community; we cannot have only some sections of the community being able to afford the time to be councillors, which means giving councillors some financial compensation for the time they give up.

How disappointing to hear the chairman of the Conservative party, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps), compare the role of a councillor with that of a scout leader. Councils and councillors run multi-million pound organisations, employ thousands of people and are charged with transforming services in line with the disproportionately heavy cuts forced on them by the very Ministers who belittle and demean their work.

When the current comprehensive spending review was announced, it was disappointing to see the Secretary of State in effect fiddling the figures, in my view, by adding to the base sums of money that were never within local government responsibility in the first place before working out the percentage reductions. The purpose was of course to make the overall cut in funding for local authorities look smaller than it really is.

It is worth commenting that, in reality, local government is getting a bigger percentage cut than any national Department. The National Audit Office confirms that local government is the most efficient tier of government. We should look to local government to learn lessons, not demonise it to allow the national Government and national Departments to get away with smaller efficiencies than they could deliver.

Pretending, as I regularly hear Ministers do, that councils can lose what amounts to up to 50% of their discretionary funding without that affecting front-line services, through some kind of imagined and miraculous efficiency savings, is a ludicrous position to adopt and demeans those who mouth it. That would be a feat that no public service organisation has managed to deliver, and it is a fiction by Ministers that is worthy of nomination for the Man Booker prize. It should certainly not be thrown into a debate about the future funding and resourcing of vital public services on which our communities depend.

The need for localism is growing like never before. The Government like to talk local, but they often centralise decision making under a veil of language—the opposite of what they are saying. It is true that not only this Government but every Government I can remember have behaved liked that. I hope that if there is a Labour Government after the next election, they will genuinely seek to devolve power to local government, and localise it, in a way that we have not seen before.

Local government is finding out and identifying new ways to run public services that take account of the drastic reductions in public service funding over recent years. In my view, the business model for local government is bust: it cannot continue in the future in the same way as in the past, because the reduction in resources is so drastic. Funding has changed dramatically, and so too have the expectations of citizens, who want more choice over public services and want those services to be more responsive to their needs. We must face up to the fact that top-down public services have had negative consequences, including in sapping the self-reliance of some individuals who have become heavily dependent on them, so capping their aspirations to lead better lives. Many councils of all parties, recognising those points, are considering how to transform public services by empowering citizens and co-producing services with them in ways that better meet the outcomes that citizens and communities can define for themselves.

The 16 Labour councils that form the co-operative councils innovation network—one of the groups looked at by the Select Committee during its inquiry—are innovating in all sorts of ways. Edinburgh city council, which is run by a coalition between Labour and the Scottish National party, is considering a model of city-wide child care co-operatives that aims to reduce costs, but increase accessibility for parents across the city. Rochdale has mutualised its entire housing stock to give council housing tenants more control over how its housing is managed and how decisions about their lives are taken. The council that I used to lead, Lambeth, has just set up a youth services trust that aims to give more control to communities affected by the scourge of violent gun crime over the services and interventions that will make a difference in getting young people out of crime, steering their lives back on track and helping them become more productive citizens.

In all those cases, it is vital to engage citizens and harness their insights and views about the services that they believe will tackle the problems they face. That must be central to the reform of public services in years to come. I am afraid that councillors across the country, not parliamentarians, are leading that transformation, and Parliament will have to learn from local government how to make it happen. Given that situation now, I plead with Ministers to stop demeaning the role of members of local authorities or local councillors, because the job they are doing is potentially transformative for public services across the whole country.

In conclusion, I found a post on Facebook this morning from a councillor in the London borough of Lambeth, Councillor Christopher Wellbelove, which captures the generosity of spirit and the commitment that drives many of our excellent councillors across the country. With you indulgence, Mrs Brooke, I will read it. He wrote:

“A busy day at work for BT starting at 7am because I knew I needed to gain an hour to go and meet a constituent at 2.30pm…to talk through benefit over payments... Went back to work till 6.30 when I headed out to join other Labour members chatting to local people in the Clapham Manor Street area. Final went to see Edith”—

an elderly constituent who—

“wants me to help sort some stuff out for her which of course I’m already working on. We chatted for ages about her family, her history, her amazing life. When I became a councillor I knew I wanted to help make other people’s lives better. I never imagined how much I would become close to so many people in my community... Since being elected so much has happened but thank you Edith for reminding me tonight why I became a councillor…and why I want to carry on working hard for people just like you. I may be exhausted now but…every moment of today has been worth it.”

That is the kind of front-line councillor whom Ministers should be supporting and—please—not denigrating.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Neill]

That is a perfectly fair point, and it applies right across government. I do not go as far as one council leader, with whom I served at one time, who said that his committee chairmen—we call them cabinet members now—were not doing their job if their officers and directors were not scared of them. I would not recommend such an approach, but there has to be a proper degree of distance; I think all of us would recognise that, because sometimes we have to make it clear that there is a dividing line of responsibility, and about where decisions are ultimately taken.

[Mr Reed]

I am grateful that we are benefiting from the hon. Gentleman’s vast experience of many levels and of several roles in local government. However, does he recognise my experience from a number of peer reviews of other authorities that I had the privilege to participate in? One of the reasons that some councils become unresponsive to the needs of their citizens is that they are too officer-led, and if the elected members are not around enough to ensure that the officers are responding to residents, they are not able to carry out their job. Some of the points that he is making would encourage elected members to be around less rather than more, and therefore they would be unable to make the difference that residents want.

[Robert Neill]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s proposition, but maybe not with his final conclusion, for several reasons. First, I am firmly of the view that the best councils are member-led and that good officers respond more effectively to strong member leadership, so having such strong leadership is in everybody’s interests. Secondly, however, that does not mean that we must have a massive professionalisation. I have already made the point that often there are differences in roles, for example, in London boroughs such as the ones with which he and I are best acquainted. There is the world of difference between the commitment of the leader and the cabinet, and that of a back-bench—let us say “frontline”—ward member. We have to recognise those distinctions and that is why a sensible, locally set form of allowances is a better means of going down that route, rather than moving towards some kind of quasi-salary, because those allowances can reflect particular circumstances.

I was a little surprised to read what is again a fascinating little tit-bit in one of the appendices of the report, about the growth of special responsibility allowances. Sometimes, they are not unreasonable to reflect things. Sometimes, however, I have had a suspicion that there has been a degree of what we might term “grade inflation” in the number of special responsibility allowances that are awarded. I notice that, according to the report, something like 53% of councillors have some kind of special responsibility allowances. I wonder what that would translate into here—300-plus Front Benchers of one kind or another in this House. I do not know, though; occasionally I suppose I could see attractions to that. Again, however, I think we understand that it is a question of getting a sensible balance and not abusing what is an important system.

I will just say one other thing that shows that I do not entirely follow Opposition Members. This Government should be judged not necessarily on words but on deeds, and the real thing that makes people decide to be a councillor and to stay a councillor is a belief that the job makes a difference. The issues that we talk about and how we recruit people are terribly important. My party is putting in work. I particularly want to mention the work done by the Be a Councillor campaign, which is a cross-party Local Government Association initiative; the work that we have done in the Conservative party through Women2Win and other groups; and the work of my friend, Councillor Clare Whelan, who is a former colleague of the hon. Member for Croydon North and who was recently appointed an Officer of the British Empire for her work on improving diversity in local government. All those things are important, but the key point is that people become councillors because they think that giving up their time to go and be there is worth while, because they think that their decision can make a difference to their community and the place where they live.

That is the key point and I believe that the Government firmly pass the test, because what we have done—in actions—is give, where there was not one before, a legal power of general competence: to remove what I think we would all agree now were overly prescriptive targets; to remove the comprehensive area assessment; to phase out ring-fencing; to change the approach to planning, neighbourhood planning and so on; to remove predetermination, which I think we all agree was a fetter on democratic accountability by councillors; and to remove what had become an over-intrusive standards board, although I have said in Westminster Hall before that we need to watch to ensure that that is not recreated through the back door. All those are positive, devolutionist and decentralist actions by the Government.

In defence of Ministers—both past and present—it is perfectly consistent to say that, although we believe in localism and we hand power back, that does not mean that Ministers—or Opposition Front Benchers for that matter, as national politicians too—are obliged to take a Trappist vow of silence. It would be objectionable if a Minister said, “I am not going to allow you to take that decision”, but that is not the case; that is not what we are saying. We are allowing local government to take more decisions, but if a local authority of any political persuasion makes a flawed decision, it must run the risk of criticism by Ministers or Opposition Front Benchers, just like anyone else in public life. I do not think it is at all fair to criticise Ministers on that account; it is the deeds, not the words, by which they should be judged.

[Mr Reed]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for being so generous with his time. I commend the Government for what they did on abolishing much of the ring-fencing. That was one of the very best things that this Government have done, and it has made it easier in very difficult circumstances—circumstances that are partly the fault of this Government—to manage the reduction in resources. However, is the hon. Gentleman advocating—as I do—that the Government should now move on from that and adopt a much more thoroughgoing, total place model that looks at all the public resources being spent in a particular locality and at how those can be de-ring-fenced and made accountable to the local authority, also allowing local communities to have a bigger say over what those resources are spent on?

[Robert Neill]

I have always advocated a move towards greater pooling and collaboration on budgets, and of course the Secretary of State—both now and throughout his time in government—has done a great deal of work in pushing forward community budgets, which is part of the means of piloting exactly that approach. I think we can do more and believe that, regardless of political persuasion, we should all recognise that this is an ongoing process.

By its nature, government in this country, historically, has tended to be quite centrist and we have to move away from that, gradually. The Government have already done a lot in that direction. Successor community budget pilots will open up real opportunities to demonstrate, across Government, that this can work. However, I say, as somebody who served as a member of a strategic health authority, that we have to take on board that not all the partner agencies, to use the current fashionable term, with which local government has to work in matters such as health—I digress slightly to mention the return of public health powers to local government, which is another significant devolutionary measure that this Government have put through—have the same culture of democratic accountability and transparency as local government. It will be a real fight for those of us who identify with local government, as a sector, to ensure that our standards are applied in these new arrangements, not those of—let us say—rather more bureaucratically obscure approaches to the world. All of us in local government need to take on that fight, but there are real opportunities if we win it.

This is a positive debate. I welcome the Select Committee Chairman’s giving us the opportunity to discuss this subject. Even if we do not agree about some matters, the commitment to local government across the House is clear, and that is important.

I was impressed by the methodology set out in the report. The idea of speed dating fascinated me. A councillor attended a constituency surgery in Chislehurst with me and we went to the local pub afterwards, just to compare notes and check that we had everything in order. We were congratulating ourselves on what we thought was our good name and face recognition, until I noticed that we were sitting at a table above which was a sign that read “Over-40s speed dating tonight”. I hope that the methodology has not caused too many difficulties for the Select Committee. It is a worthwhile report. If someone does not have a sense of humour, they should not go into local government.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Brandon Lewis)]

It is a pleasure, Mr Benton, to serve under your chairmanship, as it was under our previous Chair. I congratulate the hon. Member for Sheffield South East (Mr Betts) on securing this debate, and the entire Committee on putting together the report. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is right that there are some elements on which we do not see eye-to-eye, but it is important and a rich result that it has brought the debate into the public domain and raised the profile of the great work that thousands of councillors do and have done throughout the country over the years. We are having a proper debate about the position of councillors and their role and that of councils in the future.

The work to keep up momentum in considering that role is hugely important, and necessary to ensure that we maintain and develop a skilled, enthusiastic and effective group of councillors throughout the country who are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. Hon. Members have touched on that today. We need councillors to operate effectively to meet the ever more complex demands of the future in serving of their electorate and communities.

Like others here, I come from a local government background and I clearly remember the tap on my shoulder from a Conservative councillor—unfortunately, he is no longer with us—who explained that if I stood for the council, it would be really helpful and I would be serving my community. He used the classic words that many of us have heard, or even said, that it will take only a couple of hours once a week, if not once a month, over the next few months. I stand here today as a result of that.

Being a councillor and being part of fixing the pothole and making someone’s life better today and tomorrow is a fantastically rewarding job. Politicians at all levels should be more honest about that and publicise the fact that we are fortunate in our jobs and in serving our communities. It is right to do what we can to raise the profile of how that empowers our communities and how we can be involved and lead our communities. The Localism Act 2011 played a large part in moving that forward and will strengthen it in the time ahead.

I hope that, in the next few years, we will see a growing understanding by people and councils of what powers people can use to benefit and work for their communities. That will help ensure that more councils are member-led instead of officer-led. I think hon. Members in the Chamber agree that we must ensure that the powerhouse of our local democracy is led by elected officials.

The hon. Member for Warrington North (Helen Jones) was right when she said that it is important that local councils have a good cross-section of people from all types of background and of all ages. I was proud that, when I was a council leader, I developed a group that included the youngest councillor in the country at the time when the age limit changed, and a brilliant councillor who is well into his 70s. They performed a great service in a council with an even spread of men and women.

Councils today recognise that things are changing. An example was given of a pram, and the same occurred with the introduction of disability discrimination legislation. Councils must move forward and provide. My successor on the council I led has just had her first child and has managed to ensure that she can continue as leader. Obviously, she will take maternity leave, but the council will remain member-led, and someone’s sex or age will not stop that.

Referring to something my hon. Friend Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman) said, I was leader of my council for five years and I ran a business full time, but I was the leader of a relatively small district authority in a two-tier structure. I highlight that because it picks up a point made by hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Rugby (Mark Pawsey), that there are many different sorts of council, of different sizes and make-up—unitary, metropolitan, county, district—and I will touch on that in more detail a moment. It is important not to have a one-size-fits-all structure or a national structure of how people should be recompensed or given an allowance. It is right that that is led locally by remuneration panels and councils that understand what their councils need.

When I was first a back-bench opposition councillor, it involved evenings only for a couple of hours every week or two. In many district councils, it is not much different now. In Great Yarmouth, council meetings are still primarily evening meetings to allow people who work to be involved. It is right that councils retain the flexibility to look at what is right for them and their members in representing and being part of their community and involving the community in those meetings.

To touch on a valuable and valid point from my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East, I am doing what I can to encourage all councils to look at their structure and constitution and to decide whether to choose, now that we have changed with the Localism Act 2011, between a cabinet and a committee structure, particularly in small and two-tier authorities, but in any authority, and to involve back benchers and the community as part of that process. I led a committee-structure council, but I know that a cabinet structure can work well, and it is right that councils look carefully at what is right for them, their community and their members, and have the flexibility to make that choice. The ability to make that choice now exists in a way that it previously did not.

The debate has taken place under previous Administrations, and it is fantastic that the Committee and the hon. Member for Sheffield South East have re-energised the debate and enabled it to take place again today. It provides an opportunity for the Government to set out our views on what being a councillor should mean and what roles councillors should seek in the wider context in which they will act and work in the next few years. These issues are not free from controversy, as indeed the Committee’s inquiry, its report and the Government’s subsequent response has clearly shown. There are some sharp differences between the Government’s position on the role of councillors and some of the points in the report.

Before I go into that in more detail, let me say something on which I think we all agree. I pay tribute, as other hon. Members, including the hon. Member for Warrington North, have done, to all councillors throughout the country who give their time, energy and efforts to put in the vital work to set out the strategic direction for their councils, holding them to account for the provision of public services, and representing their communities and residents so well. I recognise the skill and dedication of all those who do that public service as councillors on behalf of all of us as residents.

As we have heard, this country has a long tradition of people serving their community as elected councillors, from parish councillors in our smallest villages to city councillors and directly elected mayors in great cities and urban areas. A whole range of people out there are working in that proud civic tradition and in our great cities. In every case, councillors, as the democratically elected representatives of their communities, are uniquely placed to contribute to their communities’ well-being and future development.

However, as we know from the discussions between my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) and the hon. Member for Sheffield South East about the days of the previous municipal authorities organisation, which I admit predates my time as a councillor, and as I know from my experiences of the LGA and from how councillors have developed today, councils are continually changing. The role of councillors will always change, develop and evolve to meet the needs of communities in any given time and age.

Employers have a role in ensuring a healthy, vibrant councillor base now and in the future. That is important, and I congratulate the Committee members who have raised the issue of ensuring that we do more to educate employers about the benefits of having councillors—not just their responsibilities if their employees are councillors, but the benefits to them of having councillors who have wider experience of representing, advocating, negotiating and leading for their community.

What is the future for councillors? That is a fair question emanating from this debate. As we set out in our response, the Government are clear that the core principles of being a councillor, for us, are community service and volunteering. We are clear that councillors are and fundamentally should be volunteers. Let me be clear about what I mean. I am not suggesting that councillors should be amateurish or lack the important skills that they need to fulfil their role as representatives of their electorate, but I am clear that being a councillor is not a staff council job.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst pointed out, we do not want a professional councillor role, which would blur the line between the council and the executive. Councillors are there in a different capacity, and it is that difference that gives them their power, their benefit to the community and the strength not just to scrutinise but to lead and set strategic direction without being part of the establishment.

That is why it is important to delineate the difference between a councillor’s role and that of staff of the council. It comes through on many levels, and training is part of that. I congratulate the LGA on the great work that it is doing to develop training. Some training opportunities have been mentioned in this debate, but councils have a duty to ensure that they educate people, particularly new councillors, about the opportunities available. The political parties obviously play a part in that as well, as was mentioned in information given to the Committee.

I accept that there will be councillors—leaders of our cities and counties, cabinet members and leaders in front-line roles, for want of a better phrase—who will in practice put in a level of commitment that is effectively full-time or more. My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East mentioned his experience, and the time that he gave. I accept that, which is why I accept that the allowances provided should reflect such commitment appropriately: not as a salary or remuneration package or as compensation for what the person might have earned if they had not chosen to be a councillor, but as appropriate recognition by the community of the contribution that the person is making to the community’s life. “Appropriate” includes also having regard to the present circumstances of the public purse and the pressures and burdens faced by ordinary taxpayers, as the hon. Member for Warrington North pointed out.

The Chairman of the Select Committee and the report made the point that the Secretary of State and I are “inconsistent” in talking about localism; the example that he used was my comments about Cornwall when I gave evidence to the Committee. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst eloquently pointed out, giving local decision-making power does not mean that we as Ministers, or as politicians generally, have taken a vow of silence. It is right that we highlight things.

It was said that we talked about a Labour conspiracy. Actually, one reason why we gave some of the examples that we did—for instance, the Labour group in Norwich which raised council tax this year and then massively raised allowances, or the meeting in Great Yarmouth lately where a Labour group wanted to raise allowances for vice-chairmen—is that that kind of thing does not give local government a good name when people are struggling at home.

[Mr Reed]

Can the Minister explain why appropriate remuneration for the full-time leader of a major county or unitary council should not include a pension, while for a directly elected mayor it should?

[Brandon Lewis]

As the hon. Gentleman will know, we have just held a consultation on the future of the local government pension scheme for councillors, and we will be responding in due course. He will have to bear with me until we respond to the consultation.

However, I highlight, as I just said, that there is a difference between fully employed council staff and councillors. That does not mean that the local remuneration panels and the council should not take decisions about what is right for them locally on remuneration and allowances for council members; they have local power to do so. Equally, if they make decisions that the community do not like or that are referred back, they must also expect their local national politicians to give up their vow of silence.

That is how the Government see councillors in the future, and it is what we believe the majority of our communities expect. In short, as is often the case today, councillors will be those who are the most community-spirited and the most ready to take up the challenge of making a difference to their localities. Their motivation should be, and generally is, community service, not personal gain or advantage for any group or organisation to which they belong.

On representation and diversity, we have heard that the key motivation for the Committee report was statistics from the national census of local authority councillors about the average age and diversity of our elected councillors. The inquiry, to which I also gave evidence, looked in great detail at the changing role of councillors. In particular, it has considered the changes driven by this Government’s desire to decentralise and ensure that powers and responsibilities are effectively delegated to local authorities and, beyond that, to communities, neighbourhoods and individuals.

The inquiry also considered carefully what might be done to encourage a more diverse councillor base and some of the practical issues that may discourage it, and identified three key practical barriers to people putting themselves forward or remaining as candidates, including the time required and the attitude of employers and allowances. It also considered the support required by councillors now and in future.

I will address the issues raised in a moment, but I am clear that the real key to attracting a wide range of new and enthusiastic councillors and retaining and nurturing existing councillors—the point about retention levels has been well made—is ensuring that councils and councillors have a purpose and opportunities to get things done that matter to them and their communities. That goes straight to the values of being a councillor, which I have discussed. Our commitment as a Government to localism and the new legislative framework that we have created provides a new impetus for councils and councillors to look outwards, work collectively, engage with their communities and neighbourhoods and exercise new freedoms for their areas.

At the heart of that is the general power of competence, which opens up a fundamental change to the whole culture of local government. Those who grasp that nettle and understand it will realise that there are massive new opportunities and a chance to reinvigorate engagement with leaders, communities and residents on behalf of their areas with councils and other organisations to deliver services and improvements for their communities.

That is the context in which our localism agenda equally reinforces communities through the introduction of neighbourhood planning, the right to build, the community right to challenge and the community right to bid. Although some have suggested that introducing those rights simply acts to bypass councils and councillors, I believe that those powers and rights need to be driven down to whatever level is appropriate and go directly to the community.

If councillors engage fully with those powers and rights, take part and are prepared to put their commitment into such community works, they can provide new and exciting opportunities for councillors to support, encourage, mentor, negotiate and advocate for their communities to deliver things for them and make their communities’ dreams and aspirations become real on the ground.

Decentralising and moving powers to the most appropriate local level is not a threat to councils, but it should incentivise people to become involved and see that they can make a difference to their community. It should empower not only what are often referred to as back-bench councillors but councillors generally, particularly against the strength of an officer base.

At the same time, hon. Members will know that I am currently considering responses to our consultation on the development of parish and town councils, particularly in areas where there are none at present, again with a real desire to provide a focus for local activity, local engagement and, with the support and involvement of local councillors, local delivery. For those with a true interest in their communities, a vocation and a desire to make things better is the incentive to serve. The reward is the knowledge of the part played in delivering those changes and improvements, and in making things better. All of us who are or have been councillors have a part to play in promoting what a fantastic job and experience it is to be able to go out there and work with a community to improve the community in which we live.

I also see opportunities here for councillors of all types, and not only cabinet members or leaders. Some might feel disfranchised, particularly by the cabinet system in an executive council—I get that a lot when I am travelling around the country. We want councillors not only to be reinvigorated in representing their communities to the council and in holding the council to account, but to let the community see that councillors have a hugely important role and purpose on the council.

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[Brandon Lewis]

I thank the hon. Lady for her comment, which highlights the points that have been made by my hon. Friends. That is exactly why members and councillors are there to challenge officers, and not just to take their word but to look at things and make decisions for their communities. If they feel that they need to put that in reserves, they cannot credibly say, “We can put away a record level of reserves”—an extra £3 billion this year alone—“but we have not got enough money.” If they did not have enough money, they would not be putting £3 billion into reserves. They would not be able to do it.

[Mr Reed]

I often hear Ministers say these kind of things. Does the Minister understand the difference between capital and revenue funding? Government Ministers often assume that money can be taken out of reserves and spent on revenue-funded services, without taking account of the fact that that would mean, in the following years, that there would be no reserves.

[Brandon Lewis]

Yes, I understand that, having been a council leader myself, and having gone through various budgets, including being able to freeze council tax back in 2005 to keep council tax low, as the Government have done consistently since coming into office in 2010. I fully understand that. I say to councils that if they want to spend and if they have reserves they are building up—councils have built up £3 billion of extra reserves in the past year alone, taking the amount to a record high of £19 billion—it is not credible for the public to expect them to be able to build up such reserves while pleading poverty. If they want to look at using that and they need to look at the capital side of their reserves, they should look at putting that into capital expenditure that will help them save revenue further down the line. That can be done, and good councils are doing that across the country and are even able to provide cuts in council tax, as we saw from some great Conservative councils in this year alone.

I recognise that, in general, providing this framework is not, in terms of the Localism Act, the end of the story. I am as keen as anyone here to see more people from more backgrounds become involved in one way or another, bringing a wider range of skills and experiences and spreading the load. However, I am clear that it is also for councils and local political parties to engage positively in their areas, to provide strong role models, to go out into their communities and to be part of them, and to demonstrate the importance of the work they do by using their new freedoms to show that they can make things better, generate an enthusiasm to become involved and then harness that enthusiasm.

That is not about setting centrally driven quotas or lists. It is not about directing councils on the support that they must provide or on how they should do things. It is not about centralising or directing councils over the allowances they pay, nor is it about us taking a vow of silence on any of those things. It is not about imposing additional levels of performance management, when ultimately the ballot box will determine.

My hon. Friend the Member for Cleethorpes touched on elections every two years, and he has made his views well known around unitary councils. Where we do have examples of two-yearly elections, the turnout is not particularly higher, and it is certainly no higher than when we have all-out four-yearly elections. Again, that is something that councils have the freedom to look at, take a view on, and decide what is right for them in their communities.

Nor is this about imposing any central burdens on national or, in particular, local taxpayers without the opportunity for them to consider whether that is how they want their money to be spent. What it is about is harnessing the enthusiasm on the ground to get involved and make a community better. For example, we already have more than 650 communities applying to have a neighbourhood area designated. That is the first step in a formal process for neighbourhood planning. More are joining each week and, in that way, exercising a real local say in how they want their areas to develop.

It is about working with communities and encouraging them to see the new opportunities open to them, even if the community does not necessarily want to get involved to start with, because it is something new and they are not used to it. There is nothing to stop councillors from encouraging them to make their views known and to start to build interest, or from mentoring them and representing them in the council and other service delivery organisations.

There are many examples of councillors working in communities to help their residents take back control. This is about those councillors acting as role models for and in their communities. It is about explaining clearly the roles of councillors and the function of local government in people’s lives. We all have an important part to play in that, as do the media, as a couple of Members touched on earlier. It is about councils truly valuing the work of their councillors, supporting and empowering them and providing them with the necessary freedoms, tools and budgets as appropriate.

It is about local and national political parties engaging with people, considering how they can best encourage people and candidates to come forward, and looking at their own rules and processes.