Councils pledge to help each other avoid intervention

More than 100 councils have pledged their commitment to help
each other improve to ensure that by 2006 no local authority will
face government intervention.

Council leaders have signed up to the Local Government
Association’s written statement ‘Moving Towards
Excellence’ following publication of the comprehensive
performance assessment results in December.

The LGA wants the government to back self improvement and peer
support, and to carry out its promise to make freedoms and
flexibilities available to all councils.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, LGA chairperson, said that local government
“is best placed to support itself to improve” with
council workers able to offer support to colleagues from other
authorities.

“We are confident that all councils will play their part,
and we hope that government will encourage their efforts by
extending the scope of freedoms from red tape and ring-fenced
budgets to all councils who are making these efforts to
improve,” he said.

Labour MP Valerie Davey tabled an early day motion last month in
support of the LGA’s plans for improving local
government.