Frequently asked questions

Questions and answers about the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 -

What does the Sustainable Communities Act aim to do?

It encourages local communities to come forward with ideas and proposals to promote the sustainability of their local area. ‘Sustainability’ is defined in the Act in very broad terms, and can cover anything which could improve the economic, social, or environmental well-being of the area, or promote participation in civic or political activity.

Who can put forward proposals?

Ultimately anyone can suggest a proposal, via their council. The expectation is that most proposals will come from community organisations, local branches of national organisations, parish and town councils, neighbourhood forums, residents and tenants associations, local strategic partnerships and other partnership bodies. Proposals can be developed by councils themselves, who will need to discuss these ideas with local panels (explained later) and try to reach agreement. Ideas could be generated through the development of sustainable community strategies and local area agreements.

Does the Act bring any more Government funds to local areas?

No, there is no specific budget to distribute under the Act. Although proposals could be made to government which would require new funding, generally proposals under the Act will need to be resourced from existing public funds.

How do I make a proposal under the Act?

If you are a local community organisation or other group or agency, contact your council. All proposals under the Act will need to be submitted via local councils, who have discussed them with local panels. Councils will then decide which to send on to a national ‘Selector’ body, whose role is to consider proposals made under the Act and in co-operation with the Secretary of State, to draw up a short-list. Councils can also generate their own proposals.
The Local Government Association has been appointed to the role as ‘Selector’, under section 3(1) of the Act. A final shortlist of proposals will go to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who will consult with the Selector and try to reach agreement on which of the proposals on the shortlist should be implemented.

Are district councils as well as county councils involved?

Yes. All councils in England, other than town and parish councils, can submit proposals to the Selector. Parish and town councils will need to submit proposals via one of the principal councils in their area. They can also be represented on community panels.

Why has the Local Government Association been chosen as Selector?

The Act requires the Secretary of State to appoint a Selector ‘who represents the interests of local authorities’. The Local Government Association, formed in 1997, is a membership body representing county and district councils, unitary authorities and London Boroughs, along with fire, police, national park, and transport authorities. It is therefore well placed to carry out the Selector role. The intention to appoint the LGA as Selector was made clear when Parliament was considering the Bill.

Who has the final say on which proposals are put into effect?

The Secretary of State decides, but in doing this the Act requires her/him to co-operate with the Selector (the Local Government Association) ‘and try to reach agreement’ on proposals. The Secretary of State also has to publish reasons for decisions, to publish an action plan on how proposals will be implemented, and report to Parliament each year on progress being made under the Act.

When can I submit a proposal, and what’s the deadline?

The first invitation for proposals was issued by the Secretary of State in October 2008. The deadline for submission of proposals to the Selector, in the first round, is July 31st 2009. So you can be working up proposals now.

Are there any specific criteria for proposals under the Act?

A basic criterion is that proposals must be ones that need some form of action from central government (such as a change in legislation, a transfer of responsibilities from one public body to another, a new national policy or a change or strengthening of policy).

In considering proposals, local councils will need to distinguish between those which could happen anyway, if agreed at local level, and those which need central government action or intervention of some sort. The latter category covers those appropriate to be submitted onwards, firstly to the LGA as Selector and potentially to the Secretary of State.

The LGA is developing some further criteria, to give some guidance on what sort of proposals have greatest chance of success. These criteria will remain fairly broad-brush, to avoid excluding good ideas, large or small.

Is there any Government guidance on how the Act will work?

Yes, there has been recent consultation on draft statutory guidance. The final version has been published as an annex to wider guidance covering LAAs, LSPs, and place-shaping, titled Creating Safe Strong and Prosperous Communities, and is available from the CLG website.

Does the Act require each local authority to get involved?

No. Local authorities are not under a legal duty to participate, and could choose not to promote the Act locally and to ignore any proposals coming forward from residents or businesses. But councillors could then face pressure and lobbying from groups and organisations interested in making proposals, and would need to explain to the public why they were unwilling to make use of the Act. It is expected that the majority of councils will choose to take part. Councils can engage with its provisions in the first round of proposals or in subsequent rounds – although the timing of later rounds has not yet been fixed.

Is there a formal process for councils to ‘opt in’ to the Act?

No, there is no statutory requirement or process for ‘opting in’. It is up to councils to choose whether or not to engage locally in discussions about proposals, through whatever formal or informal decision-making process they wish. Final decisions on submitting any proposals to the Selector will need formal approval from the council (or its executive).

Does the Act apply to Wales?

Only small parts of the Act apply to Wales, such as the re-naming of community strategies as ‘sustainable community strategies’. The main elements of the Act do not currently apply in Wales.

Where did the Act come from?

It started life as a Private Members Bill, promoted by a coalition of organisations interested in local sustainability. The Bill was sponsored in Parliament by Nick Hurd MP and gained wide cross-party support. The Communities and Local Government Department (CLG) is supporting implementation of the Act, as part of the wider agenda on ‘place-shaping’ and community empowerment and issued a Guide to the Act in February this year.

How will a local council go about considering proposals under the Act?

Before submitting any proposals to the LGA as the national Selector, each council will need to go through several steps:

establish or identify a panel (or panels) of local people and work with them to develop proposals which would promote sustainability. This might be a newly established panel, or an existing local consultative panel or forum which meets the requirements of the Act
try and reach agreement with the panel, about the merits of a proposal and priorities between different proposals
consult with those parties affected if the proposal involves the transfer of a responsibility from one public body to another
‘have regard’ to a list of matters set out in a Schedule to the Act, and which reflect issues of concern to organisations which supported the Act during its passage through Parliament (such as preserving local jobs, services and facilities, energy conservation, sustainable transport and food production)
make a formal decision (via the full council or council cabinet) on whether to forward the proposal onwards to the Selector.

How will such panels be made up? Who sits on them?

The arrangements for local panels are set out in the Act, and in CLG Guidance and Regulations. The legislation and guidance are not overly prescriptive about panels, only requiring that they must be made up of ‘representatives of local persons’. This is defined as ‘a balanced selection of the individuals, groups or organisations the authority considers likely to be affected by, or have an interest in the proposal'. The guidance also suggests that local authorities may want to involve parish councils in their panels.

In this context, the term 'representative' does not refer to formally elected or nominated members of the community such as councillors or officeholders in community organisations (although such individuals are not excluded from taking part in panels).

Who decides whether a panel meets the Act’s requirements?

It is left to local councils to use their judgement as to whether an existing panel or a new panel would be required to meet the legal requirements of the Act. Councils need to ensure adequate representation from often under-represented groups (defined in Guidance as 'those groups of local persons who in the opinion of the local authority are under-represented in civic and political activity in the authority’s area').

Councils can decide whether to have one panel, or to establish several panels on a geographic or thematic basis. They may use existing consultative panels or forums set up for another reason (such as development of the area's sustainable community strategy, or established neighbourhood/area forums, youth councils, and so on) so as to avoid extra costs and duplication. In such circumstances, councils will need to ensure that existing panels properly meet all the requirements of the Sustainable Communities Act.

What is the significance of the Schedule to the Act, listing matters ‘to which local authorities must have regard’?

This schedule contains a list of matters, as decided by Parliament, which local councils will need to think about when considering and deciding on proposals. The list is intended to help councils decide whether proposals will contribute to the sustainability and wellbeing of the area. The list illustrates the type of issues with which proposals might be concerned, but the Schedule should not dictate or constrain the scope of proposals, if local people and the councils have other ideas which will contribute to a more sustainable community.

Is there a limit on the number of proposals that a council can put forward to the national Selector?

No, the Act sets no limits on the number of proposals that can be made. Depending on the level of interest and number of proposals received, the LGA will need to take a view on how many to short-list for discussion with the Secretary of State.

Are there any limitations on proposals for ‘transfer of functions’?

No. The Act states that ‘a proposal may include the request for a transfer of functions from one person to another’. The CLG guide to the Act interprets this as the transfer from one public body to another.

Potentially the Act allows for proposals that involve significant shifts in responsibilities across the public sector, including Government and regional agencies and quangos (Non Departmental Public Bodies) as well as local service providers. Such proposals would need to demonstrate why they would improve economic, social or environmental wellbeing in the locality from where the proposal is made. The agency concerned must be consulted about this proposal, but is not required to support it.

If a function transfers, does the budget go with it?

Where a successful case is made for the transfer of responsibilities from one public body to one or more others, relevant budgets would transfer across at the same time. The Local Spending Reports (explained below) are intended to provide information to support this process. As in all such cases, there would be issues to be resolved about adequacy of budgets, and the extent to which they were secure for the longer-term.

Can a function be transferred from the private sector to the public sector?

Nothing in the Act prevents such proposals being made, but the Act does not create any new means of over-riding private law rights or contractual agreements. There will be inevitable complications over what are seen as ‘public’ services provided by bodies not in public sector (such as transport operators, housing associations and Registered Social Landlords).

The Act involves ‘Local Spending Reports’. What are these?

An important part of the Act is a new requirement on the Government to ensure the publication of information about public expenditure in different areas and localities across England. The aim is to give people a better picture of how public money is currently spent, and encourage ideas for spending it more effectively, and in ways which contribute better to sustainability. At the moment there is little easily accessible information available on the geographic distribution of all public expenditure, at anything lower than a regional level.

What will Local Spending Reports include?

The government will be issuing a consultation paper in December 2008 on the scope and format of spending reports. Issues to be decided include the geographic level for such reports (for example whether information will match local authority boundaries at district level, as well as county level), and the expenditure categories to be used.

When will the first Local Spending Reports become available?

The Act requires arrangements to be in place by April 2009. CLG originally stated that they hope for earlier publication but this is now looking less likely as the consultation paper is late in being published.

How will the Selector role work?

The deadline of July 31st 2009 gives councils several months to consult locally on proposals. Proposals will need to be submitted in an online form, the details of which are being developed. In the New Year the LGA as Selector plan to publish a simple ‘expression of interest’ form, on its website, which would allow councils to send in a short initial summary of any proposals they are working on.

‘Expressions of interest’ will not commit anyone to submitting a final proposal, and proposals can be developed and refined in the period up to July 2009. Their publication online should help councils get a feel of other ideas being developed, and may lead to some joint working. It will also help LGA and CLG get a flavour of proposals in the pipeline.

Who will be doing the ‘selecting’, within the Local Government Association?

The LGA is a membership organisation, made up of local councils in England (almost all councils are members). It works as a cross-party organisation, via a series of boards made up of councillors from different local authorities. The political balance across these boards reflects the state of the political parties within local councils across England, at any point in time. Agendas and decisions of LGA boards are published on the LGA website: LGA decision-making bodies

Decisions on which proposals to short-list will be made by a new LGA Selector Panel, set up specifically for the purpose. It will be made up of councillors, drawn from across the political parties represented on the LGA.

How will proposals be assessed?

Depending on the nature of the proposal the assessment will need to cover questions such as

Does the proposal require action from central government, or is it something that a local council or (other local partner body) could do anyway?
How will it contribute to environmental, economic and/or social sustainability, (including participation in civic and political activity)?
What will be the impact of the proposal, in terms of geographic area or population affected. Is it of very local significance or potential sub-regional impact? The LGA is likely to short-list small-scale as well as larger ideas, in keeping with the devolutionary intent of the Act.
What legal issues might be involved? Do any local bodies (council, police, health, others) already have the necessary powers?
If there are proposals for transfer of functions, what other bodies are affected? Have they been consulted?
Have the Act’s requirements for consultation with a community panel been met, and what evidence is there of local support for the proposal? Have the various matters in the Schedule to the Act been taken into account, where relevant to an individual proposal?

Who pays for the costs of implementing the Act?

The Act states that Parliament will meet the costs. CLG is entering into a funding agreement with the LGA to meet the costs of acting as Selector. These costs will not therefore form any part of the subscription paid to the LGA by member councils. Nor will they fall on council tax payers.

How can I find out what other councils are doing for the Act?

We often get queries at the LGA asking how other councils and partnerships are developing their proposals and what these look like. We also find many of you are coming up against similar issues. The Sustainable Communities Act Community of Practice (CoP) provides a space and opportunity for councils to discuss these issues informally with each other. To access it you must first register on the CoP website: http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/welcome.do

The LGA has also published a simple expression of interest form which is designed to help councils share ideas and learn from each other. We will be publishing what is submitted to build awareness of the potential of the Act and to enable councils to work together on similar proposals, should they wish. Sending in an expression of interest does not commit you to making a final proposal, nor is it a requirement for submitting a final proposal.

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