A presentation by John Coleman from DEFRA about Localism and the Big Society

1. Living Villages Summit: Localism and Big
Society
John Coleman. Head of Rural Intelligence and Big Society.
The Rural Communities Policy Unit, 24th June, 2011

2. A Rural Communities Policy Unit was created
in Defra, April 1st 2011
Defra Ministers: Rural
Champions and Lead rural
proofing of policy across
RCPU Key Priority: Defra Whitehall
Identify issues of critical Ministers
importance to rural Rural
Champions
communities and
support, inform and RCPU Key Priority:
influence government RCPU
Policy Developing open and
policy to achieve fair, Work With collaborative approaches to
practical and affordable OGDs
gathering information,
outcomes for rural RCPU
Engagement
evidence and solutions
residents, businesses with Civil working closely with the
and communities. Society wide range of organisations
which support and represent
rural communities.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/communities/

3. Localism and the Big Society

4. Rural Intelligence and Big Society Team
• Rural communities are enabled and empowered by the Big Society and
supported by local decision makers
Big Society
• E.g. Supporting DCLG and OCS to build capacity
• Open and collaborative working with rural communities, civic society
and decision makers to ensure ‘credible’ representation
Intelligence • E.g. ACRE / RCAN - reporting on the shared endeavours in local
decision taking between communities and local government.
• To help deliver open and responsive government through two way
dialogue
Stakeholder and
Communications • Developing new rural and farming networks to engage with Ministers

5. Rural – fertile ground for the big society?
• There are higher numbers of voluntary organisations per head of
population in rural as compared to urban England.
• Civic engagement is higher in rural England (with 54% of residents
participating) compared to urban England (where 45% of residents participate).
• An estimated £3 billion of community assets exist in rural England including
over 10,000 village halls, 90% are run by local volunteers.
• Over 4,000 community-led plans have been completed with about half of the
actions funded and delivered by communities themselves Source: Respublica report, the Rural Big
Society, March 2011
In Hereford:
• This equates to 53,000 adults who volunteer for approximately 5,876,000 hours
per annum which is valued at around £60 million if you had to pay this many
employees Source: Herefordshire quality of life survey 2008, Herefordshire Council Research Team

6. Localism Bill will bring...
• A planning system clearer, more democratic and
more effective.
• A new National Planning Policy Framework
• New freedoms and flexibilities for local government
• Reforming the community infrastructure levy and
other local finance considerations

7. Localism Bill will bring...
Key changes and new rights and powers for
communities:
• Community right to challenge; right to build, and right to
buy.
• Neighbourhood planning
• Local referendums
• Hereford’s well developed partnership working - between
elected and non-elected representatives - fundamental to
success!!

8. At the Village level - Parish and Town
Councils are vital resources for villages
• Village catalysts and enablers
• Local knowledge and skills: drivers of innovation
• Bringing coherency to the voice communities e.g. through
neighbourhood planning
• Hereford: leading the way e.g. on Participatory Budgeting.
The Eden Vanguard has shown the importance of:
• communities being in charge of changes to their areas
• community-led decisions need, in practice, to be taken with
‘elected legitimacy’ – P+T Councils critical to this

9. Big things are on the horizon ...
A Government Wide Rural Statement:
• bringing together for the first time a consolidated picture of what the
Government‘s broad range of policies and programmes will mean in
practice for rural people, businesses and communities
A Rural Growth Review:
• scrutinising the constraints, opportunities and risks impacting on
economic growth in rural areas, and considering specific issues
including labour market characteristics, to support the Government's
commitment to rebalancing the economy

10. Grant Shapps: Speech to the Local Government
Association, 9 June, 2011.
"Local councillors are the heroes of their communities - they're hard
working, dedicated and often unpaid. But for years these
democratically elected representatives have been forced to sit on
their hands in the passenger seat of local government, whilst local
decisions are dictated to them from Whitehall.
"The Government ... has set councils on a revolutionary road where
the authority and responsibility of councillors will be restored,
along with their ability to respond to what local people need and
want. We've put councillors in the driving seat.