Wednesday, 22 December 2010

"I think the whole community found out"

The problem with this communications technology is, it's too darn efficient. You wanna do the Hallelujah Chrous like this, not like this.
 

22 Dec 2010 09:27:50

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A divisive localism I think I'm not the only commentator who has remained neither inspired nor gobsmacked by the publication of the Localism Bill. This is partly because so much of it was thoroughly trailed beforehand, and partly because, well, it doesn't seem to be nearly as radical as we had been led to believe. Shades of the Empowerment white paper a few years ago. Perhaps that is why the gloomy news about funding arrangements for local councils was released at the same time. I will be most curious about CLG's 'barrier-busting' initiative, described as follows: 'Some local authorities want to deliver public services in new ways. Others are keen to do new things, such as invest in small-scale green energy. And volunteers, community groups and social enterprises of many kinds would like to play a bigger role in local life. But sometimes barriers get in the way. Red tape, rules and regulations stop people putting good ideas into action. Not only is this frustrating – it means that local people miss out. The barrier busting team is here to help. We want to help you get things done for your local community.' Of course, you have to go through a few bureaucratic processes to make your case, and rightly so. I'm only going to say this once: don't let me catch you putting in a request to the barrier-busters to bust their own barriers, ok? Meanwhile, there was more interest in the published information about cuts to local council funding. Ben Toombs over on the RSA Projects blog notes that 'councils with the most deprived residents seem to be facing the deepest cuts precisely because their residents are the least affluent.' 'I think there is plenty to suggest that in practice ... the empowering effect of the Bill will be weakest in the very areas where cuts are to be deepest. If this is the case, the effect of the Bill is likely to be to widen the gap between communities, not narrow it.' Indeed. So no surprises there either. I may be wrong about the radical impact of the Localism Bill, but I don't think Ben is wrong about the effect of the cuts on those who are least able to deal with them. These cuts are doing what cuts do: they divide.
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Informed and willing participation Last week I mentioned the government's 'barrier busting' initiative designed to free-up local action. Now the National Association for Neighbourhood Management have published their idea for a 'liability waiver form', drafted in the summer, which is intended to make it easier for people to undertake practical but informal activities which involve some kind of potential hazard and where an owner of land or equipment is concerned about the risk of claims of liability against them. NANM describe it as a way to help people get on and do things like mow a grass verge, clear a patch of derelict ground, or… (like the folks in Longlevens in Gloucestershire – see below) help clear the snow and ice. It is loosely based on what you’d sign to hire a mountain bike or go paintballing and basically says “we’ve chosen to do what we’re doing, there might be a small risk, but we won’t pin the blame anyone if we get hurt”. If you make use of it or have some comments, tell the good folk at NANM.

Kevin Harris

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