Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

suggests that financial incentives can be critical to motivating action across
administrative boundaries, even if these involve only small amounts of
money.
12.4.5 The Group also considers that, notwithstanding the progress that has been
made in rationalising local development structures, greater efforts are
needed to ensure effective coordination of local development. The CDB
responsibility for ‘endorsing’ local development plans at present gives the
CDBs and local authorities only limited potential for ensuring that the work
of local development groups in different locations is not replicated.
12.4.6 In order to ensure better coordination at local level, the Group proposes that
a small percentage of budget allocations to relevant public bodies on the
CDB be conditional on the delivery of agreed joint service initiatives, or
ringfenced for the delivery of joint service initiatives as agreed by the CDB.
This would give local authorities and the CDBs greater leverage to ensure
that the activities of local development groups and other service providers
are consistent with broader plans and programmes for the county / city,
minimise overlaps, and ensure greater accountability to local elected
representatives.
Recommendations:
12.5.1 Thus the Group recommends that:
• Local authorities continue their role in promoting and leveraging
community actions and local innovation to improve local areas, for
example in the maintenance of local estates;
• The consolidation of local development bodies be intensified;
• The programmes and plans of local development bodies be aligned
with those of the relevant local authorities to ensure maximum value
for money and a more focused impact on local communities;
• The plans of local development bodies be approved by their
appropriate county and city council, and these bodies should report on
the progress made in implementing these plans to local authorities at
regular intervals;
• All new local development programmes be placed under the care and
control of the relevant local authorities;
• County/ City Enterprise Boards be integrated within their respective
county/ city local authority;
• The CDB Interdepartmental Group remain in place to strengthen and
develop the CDBs including overseeing relevant recommendations in
this report;
• CDB member bodies be incentivised to share resources and promote
better co-ordination of publicly funded local services – this could be
done either by making a small percentage of budget allocations to
relevant member bodies conditional on the delivery of agreed joint
service initiatives as confirmed by the CDB, or by ringfencing a small
percentage of budget allocations to relevant member bodies
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