Q&A

Life is far from dull in local government at the moment: the long-awaited review from

Sir Michael Lyons has just been published; the spending review squeeze is looming in the summer; and then there is the small matter of local elections on 3 May. Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association, told Regenerate his hopes for what look set to be a tumultuous few months in the town halls.

• What could be the most important thing to result from the Lyons review and why?

We need not just a devolution of funding but a devolution of powers. This already happens in [the rest of] Europe and America, where they control transport, economic development, planning, housing and regeneration. There is a huge appetite for it here too. Cities are well placed to best appreciate local markets around areas such as Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester.

• To what extent do you think local authorities are prepared to deliver the place-shaping role referred to by Lyons?

This is something local authorities want to do. Unfortunately, this government has eroded the power and autonomy of local authorities, so performing this role is much harder than it need be. If you look at the other major world economies, the degree of centralisation in the UK surpasses them all.

• To what extent do you think the upcoming local elections will reflect a change in people’s aspirations for their communities?

It has been a problem in recent years that people have voted on national politics in local elections.

If local authorities had the ability to make [more] local decisions, people would have more to vote. Think about this: 75% of funding in Scandinavian countries is retained locally and there is a 70% turnout for local elections.

• If you could get Gordon Brown to agree to one new idea in the comprehensive spending review, what would it be and why?

We should follow the Australian line where they have an independent commission setting the amount of government cash that goes to councils. They also do this in Denmark and it would avoid the annual shouting match about council tax increases.