Sustainable Communities Act 2007
Encyclopedia
The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (c 23) is an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
. The Bill for this Act was a Private Member's Bill
.
The Sustainable Communities Act represents the campaign success by Local Works
, a UK coalition of over 100 national organisations, to introduce legislation that will help reverse the trend of community decline, also called 'Ghost Town Britain'. Ghost Town Britain refers to the ongoing loss of local facilities and services including, amongst others: shops, markets, Post Offices, pubs, bank branches and health centres, etc. The term 'Ghost Town Britain' was initially coined by the British think-tank the New Economics Foundation.
The Act was amended by the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act 2010
.
The Sustainable Communities Act represents the campaign success by Local Works, a UK coalition of over 100 national organisations, to introduce legislation that will help reverse the trend of community decline, also called 'Ghost Town Britain'.
Ghost Town Britain refers to the ongoing loss of local facilities and services including, amongst others: shops, markets, Post Offices, pubs, bank branches and health centres, etc. The term 'Ghost Town Britain' was initially coined by the British think-tank the New Economics Foundation.
The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 was amended in 2010 when the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act passed through Parliament and became law on 6th April 2010.
The Act sets up a process, by which councils can drive government action. Councils are given the power to make proposals to the Secretary of State, as to how government can ‘assist councils in promoting the sustainability of local communities’. The SoS is then under a duty to ‘reach agreement’ with councils, via their representative body, the Local Government Association (the LGA - called ‘the selector‘ in the Act) on which proposals will be given priority.
The Act seeks to open up the work of local communities to greater transparency by including ‘local people’ in the proposal process. The Act specifies that when making their proposals to the SoS, councils must involve ‘local people’ by setting up, or recognising if they already exist, ‘panels of representatives of local people’ (or citizens’ panels). Councils then must ‘reach agreement’ (not just consult) with those panels regarding ideas for proposals to put to the SoS for government action.
Under the Act, local sustainability has four measurements:
1. Thriving local regeneration
2. Environmental protection
3. Social inclusion
4. Active democratic participation
On the 14th October 2008: The Secretary of State (Hazel Blears) invited councils (district, borough, city, unitary and county) to make proposals to central government, via the LGA, by 31st July 2009 on how central government can help promote local sustainability. Enthusiasm for the process was evidenced with 100 Local Authorities ‘opting in’ to the first round to use the Act. Out of this, 300 proposals reached the LGA, of these 200 were put forward to the government for consideration.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. The Bill for this Act was a Private Member's Bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
.
The Sustainable Communities Act represents the campaign success by Local Works
Local Works
Local Works is a UK coalition of over 120 national organisations campaigning to promote the use of the Sustainable Communities Act. Originally set up by the new economics foundation, the Local Works coalition was formed in 2002 with the sole aim of campaigning to see the Sustainable Communities...
, a UK coalition of over 100 national organisations, to introduce legislation that will help reverse the trend of community decline, also called 'Ghost Town Britain'. Ghost Town Britain refers to the ongoing loss of local facilities and services including, amongst others: shops, markets, Post Offices, pubs, bank branches and health centres, etc. The term 'Ghost Town Britain' was initially coined by the British think-tank the New Economics Foundation.
The Act was amended by the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act 2010
Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act 2010
The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 Act 2010 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to amend the Sustainable Communities Act 2007....
.
How the Act works
The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Brought to Parliament as a Private Member's Bill, it received Royal Assent on 23 October 2007.The Sustainable Communities Act represents the campaign success by Local Works, a UK coalition of over 100 national organisations, to introduce legislation that will help reverse the trend of community decline, also called 'Ghost Town Britain'.
Ghost Town Britain refers to the ongoing loss of local facilities and services including, amongst others: shops, markets, Post Offices, pubs, bank branches and health centres, etc. The term 'Ghost Town Britain' was initially coined by the British think-tank the New Economics Foundation.
The Sustainable Communities Act 2007 was amended in 2010 when the Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Act passed through Parliament and became law on 6th April 2010.
The Act sets up a process, by which councils can drive government action. Councils are given the power to make proposals to the Secretary of State, as to how government can ‘assist councils in promoting the sustainability of local communities’. The SoS is then under a duty to ‘reach agreement’ with councils, via their representative body, the Local Government Association (the LGA - called ‘the selector‘ in the Act) on which proposals will be given priority.
The Act seeks to open up the work of local communities to greater transparency by including ‘local people’ in the proposal process. The Act specifies that when making their proposals to the SoS, councils must involve ‘local people’ by setting up, or recognising if they already exist, ‘panels of representatives of local people’ (or citizens’ panels). Councils then must ‘reach agreement’ (not just consult) with those panels regarding ideas for proposals to put to the SoS for government action.
Under the Act, local sustainability has four measurements:
1. Thriving local regeneration
2. Environmental protection
3. Social inclusion
4. Active democratic participation
Proposals and the ‘first round’ under the Act
The local sustainability strategies will state ways in which community decline is to be reversed and local sustainability is to be created. This could include measures to promote local shops and services, local jobs and local businesses; measures to reduce social exclusion and increase active citizenship; as well as measures to improve the local environment.On the 14th October 2008: The Secretary of State (Hazel Blears) invited councils (district, borough, city, unitary and county) to make proposals to central government, via the LGA, by 31st July 2009 on how central government can help promote local sustainability. Enthusiasm for the process was evidenced with 100 Local Authorities ‘opting in’ to the first round to use the Act. Out of this, 300 proposals reached the LGA, of these 200 were put forward to the government for consideration.
See also
- Sustainable Communities PlanSustainable Communities PlanThe Sustainable Communities Plan was launched in 2003 and is a key policy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in guiding its regeneration and departmental objectives. It led to the a range of policies and plans which are in effect a spatial plan for the whole of England...
- List of local authorities have opted into the Sustainable Communities Act 2007