In County Durham we have been proud to demonstrate the ‘Labour difference’ ever since a single unitary county council came into being in April 2009. As elsewhere we have faced unprecedented cuts from the coalition government – already approximately £100m has been removed from our budget with as much again over the next three years. In the face of this onslaught we have done what any Labour council should – protect the most vulnerable, including the elderly, disabled and young people. Key to developing our priorities has been our programme of public engagement and consultation, which has involved thousands of residents making decisions across the county and helped us frame our budget choices.
What we have found is that, when asked to make difficult decisions, our residents have given sensible answers. In late 2010 when the scale of the government’s assault on public services was becoming clear, we asked what we should prioritise. Thousands of local people took part in a mass budget exercise in area forums, online and through adverts in local newspapers and told us their priorities: adult social care, vulnerable young people and keeping our roads clear in winter – the latter perhaps explained by the foot of snow which lay outside as the surveys were completed!
Our Labour council has matched the priorities of our residents, maintaining tens of thousands of care packages for elderly and disabled residents, increasing our budget for looked-after children and keeping all of our sure start centres open. And, yes, we have also maintained every penny of our budget for winter salting and gritting.
Of course the cuts keep coming and there are more difficult years ahead. In autumn this year we will again ask the public to help decide what should be protected and we will build on the experience we have gained so far.
This has included public engagement in a series of community budget events deciding how limited resources should be spent locally. On a Saturday morning last May, more than 1,400 local residents in the small town of Stanley turned up at their local leisure centre to decide how a local budget of £100,000 should be spent. Believed to be the largest participatory budgeting exercise of this nature ever carried out in the UK, we found the results not only gave legitimacy to spending decisions, but increased knowledge and interest in the range of community groups operating locally. Almost 300 people even stayed in the hall for several hours to hear the announcement of the results, the sort of crowd we usually only read about in the history books.
Our programme of local engagement contrasts sharply with a national government who have made no attempt whatsoever to consult the public on spending priorities since taking office in 2010. Whether cuts to policing, the armed services or local government, there has been no chance for public involvement in decisions that will change the shape of our country for years to come – little wonder that people feel disconnected from decision-makers and the political process.
There is no reason why the Durham model of engagement should not be extended and even adopted nationally under a Labour government – what better way could there be of the party reconnecting with the public and regaining the trust needed to take us forward in difficult times?
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Simon Henig is leader of Durham county council
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Durham County Council is featured in a new report One Nation Localism: How Labour councils are delivering fairness in tough times, published by the LGA Labour Group and which will be launched at the Labour local government conference this weekend.
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So what was cut and by how much?
So what was cut and by how much?
Stanley is a small town?
Keep up the good work otherwise, though.
You can ask the people and collate the information and look smug by seen to be listening but if your not actually taking any notice where is the democracy. A petition asking to keep the leisure centre open contained the signatures the number of which was just under 50% of the population. The centre closed even though a plan for the community to run it was on the table. As a token we were promised a fitness suite in the civic centre as almost a sorry token, this wont happen now as Mr Henig’s council have devised a way to give money already allocated to Crook to a community based scheme to build a fitness centre. Recently 90% of respondents in a survey supported a development which meant that Crook would have a new football ground, with leisure facilities open to the town, and a decent sized supermarket. The council insist on ignoring this. DCC remind me of the survey that the local PCT carried out into cost cutting option A/ close the A&E at Bishop Auckland, option B close the A&E at Bishop Auckland, option C close the A&E at Bishop Auckland. This PCT and DCC have the same ethos we take your opinions seriously……when you agree with us!!!