I would first like to express my thanks to the hundreds of district and unitary council leaders and chief executives who joined us for our annual conference last month (Nov).
After such a long time behind a screen, it was lovely to be able to see so many colleagues in person and learn from our shared experiences of an extraordinary 18 months.
Over the course of this pandemic, District Councils’ Network (DCN) member councils have stepped up heroically to the challenges presented to us.
Whether it be delivering £9 billion in lifeline business support grants, providing emergency shelter to thousands of rough sleepers, or helping local businesses and high streets reopen safely, our members have been at the heart of supporting our communities when they have needed it the most.
This is an exciting time to be taking over as Chair of the DCN. Cllr John Fuller did a tremendous job in this role and he leaves big shoes to fill.
But it is an honour to help support and promote the fantastic work that our member councils do every day to help their communities, as we look to build back better from the pandemic.
It’s clear that much of the Government’s well-publicised ambition to level up the country cannot be achieved without a strong partnership with local government. This creates a fantastic opportunity for us to shape what the Government does on the big issues of the day.
Levelling up cannot simply be a political slogan. Fundamentally, it must be about giving powers and responsibilities to local communities to reduce inequality, to create opportunities, to make local economies thrive, and to improve the life chances of people living across the country.
For too long, England’s fastest-growing towns and cities have been locked out of opportunities to shape more of their future – at great national cost. The approach so far, focusing on large metropolitan areas, has overlooked an inconvenient truth: that smaller places were growing faster than larger ones.
If levelling up is to be a success, it should be bottom-up, flexible and non-prescriptive, allowing councils to come together to reflect the economic patterns around towns and cities, and supporting connections across larger areas.
We need the Government to lay out the full range of powers and funding that it is willing to devolve to local areas, and then deliver on its commitment.
During the pandemic, we’ve proven our capacity and desire to support and lead our local communities. We want Government to give us the powers to do even more.
We want the Government to support local areas to develop their own partnerships of choice to attract the powers needed to support their economic geographies, with every council in those areas on an equal footing in any agreed deals.
District councils stand ready and able to help fulfil the Government’s aim to level up the country and ensure that nowhere is left behind.
With the right backing, the flexibility and the powers to deliver change, we can help drive the national recovery and make the country fit for the future.