Labour Manifesto 2017

LOCAL
COMMUNITIES
Councils deliver vital local
services to our communities,
but their budgets have been
slashed by Conservative cuts.
This has led to a deterioration of
local services, from bin collection
to road repair, and the loss of
important community assets
such as libraries, youth centres
and women’s refuges.
Labour believes in devolving power
to local communities but that requires
the necessary funding follows.
You cannot empower local
government if you impoverish it.
A Labour government will give local
government extra funding next year.
We will initiate a review into
reforming council tax and business
rates and consider new options
such as a land value tax, to ensure
local government has sustainable
funding for the long term.
Labour is the party of devolution
and we believe in handing back power
to communities. We will devolve
powers over economic development,
complete with the necessary funding.
It is through the planning system
that communities can shape the
kinds of high streets, homes and
amenities that they want. But under
the Conservatives, planning has been
under-resourced and disempowered,
with democratic planning authorities
unable to stand up to big developers.
As a result, planning decisions have
become too inuenced by narrow
economic considerations, with
developers’ profit taking precedence
over community priorities.
A Labour government will properly
resource and bolster planning
authorities with fuller powers to
put people and communities at the
heart of planning. We will update
compulsory purchase powers to
make them more effective as a tool
to drive regeneration and unlock
planned development.
Under the Conservatives, nearly
£400 million has been cut from youth
services and over 600 youth centres
have closed. Labour will end the cuts
to youth services.
We will continue to support all
training routes for social workers,
including initial social work training
provided within or accredited by a
higher education institution. We will
also prevent the private sector and
subsidiaries of private companies
from running child protection
services. We will deliver earlier
protection to victims of abuse by
strengthening mandatory reporting,
and guaranteeing allegations will be
reported and action taken to make
children safe.
86 FOR THE MANY NOT THE FEW