21.12.11
Community Budget pilots announced
New Community Budget pilots have been announced in four areas across England to share services and explore better use of public money. This will involve redesigning services and aligning funding, with a view to implement changes from December 2012.
The tri-borough area of Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea has been awarded one of these pilots and will seek to increase efficiency across the town hall, Whitehall and the Greater London Authority.
The targets for this project include improving skills, training and education and tackling worklessness and youth violence. Specific aims for the tri-borough pilot are to achieve educational excellence, help all people under 25 into training or work and assure the ‘squeezed middle’ has access to high-quality, affordable housing.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said: “We need to end the ‘silo control’ and start a local service revolution that puts people at the heart of spending decisions and saves the money needed to pay off the deficit.
“[The three West London boroughs] are one of four ‘pool to save’ pioneers that can bring about truly local services that knock out bureaucratic processes everywhere and upend Whitehall’s monopoly over public money that’s hemmed in frontline workers for decades.”
Cllr Colin Barrow, leader of Westminster City Council, added: “This is about budgeting for real life and we welcome this new common-sense approach to funding which enables us to further promote growth and reduce dependency across the three boroughs.
“Our current projects, including the Family Recovery Programme and Hub Westminster, have already demonstrated our innovation, but the realigning of funding under Community Budgets gives us the potential to do so much more.”
Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, LGA chairman Cllr Sir Merrick Cockell, said: “This is an opportunity for the Government, councils and other local services to break the mould so that public money can deliver better value, better results and better lives for local people.”
The other three areas named as Community Budget pilots are: Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, Cheshire West & Chester Council, and Essex County Council.
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