Councils understand community needs
As councils continue to face complex challenges to keep our residents and communities safe, the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Committee will focus this year on supporting them to tackle the issues that matter most to local people. These range from reducing violence and antisocial behaviour to improving local resilience and strengthening our democracy.
Recent months have shown just how vital and tough the role of councils is in maintaining safe, cohesive and resilient communities.
Whether it’s working with the police to reduce antisocial behaviour, responding to rising reports of violence against women and girls (VAWG), or ensuring our regulatory and environmental health teams can protect the public, local government sits at the heart of the nation’s safety.
A central priority for our committee this year will be the implementation of the Government’s new VAWG strategy, due out soon.
Councils play a key role in prevention and support – from funding refuges and domestic abuse services to leading local partnerships that protect victims, and tackling perpetrators.
Working with the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and organisations such as the charity Surviving Economic Abuse, we are working on resources to help councils identify and respond to economic abuse, an often-hidden form of control that undermines financial independence and recovery.
Alongside this, the committee will champion the work of councils to tackle antisocial behaviour. Every resident has the right to feel safe in their home and local area.
Through our partnership with organisations such as Resolve, the national organisation for community safety and antisocial behaviour, we are pressing for government policy and new guidance to reflect the lived experience of councils and the communities they serve.
We are also exploring how data sharing and CCTV can support prevention, ensuring that local action remains proportionate, evidence-based and compliant with data protection legislation.
The committee will consider the implications of forthcoming police reform proposals, including changes to the police and crime commissioner role and the creation of local authority-led policing boards. We are working with the Home Office on how policing boards will operate.
Working closely with councils and partners, we will ensure local voices are heard and ensure reforms strengthen, rather than complicate our partnership working.
Another key focus is improving councils’ emergency preparedness and resilience. From flooding to cyber-attacks, councils are often the first responders when emergencies strike.
The LGA continues to call for a greater role for local government in national resilience planning and we have just published an updated councillor guide on civil emergencies to help elected members lead confidently during crises.
Finally, we remain committed to cultivating a healthy local democracy, including ensuring that those who serve in local government can do so safely.
We continue to support efforts to lower barriers to elected office, and to lobby for better protections, an improved standards and conduct regime, and flexibilities to allow councillors to attend council meetings remotely.
Across all of this work, one message is clear: safe, resilient communities depend on strong local leadership, and it is councils that understand community needs, bring together local partners and deliver practical solutions.
The committee will continue to make the case that a safer country starts with empowered local government.
- Find out more about the work of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Committee and its other policy committees.