At the fortnightly meeting County Associations held last week with the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) we were presented with information about a survey from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) regarding local authority-led neighbourhood governance structures.  We were asked to promote it to parish and town councils and parish meetings in our area and encourage a response. 

The deadline is 7th October and you may consider input by a clerk / officer or councillor  who has knowledge of this subject is best placed to provide some input.  SALC have already provided information to NALC via their own separate internal survey to help inform them of arrangements in Suffolk, in as much as they exist and we have experience of - which is East Suffolk Community Partnerships.   However, your council might be engaged in other more localised arrangements with your local district/county council that is not on our radar meaning there is an opportunity to give a view on how they work.

To assist further - please see a simple explanation below outlining the context and therefore purpose.   

If you have any other queries please contact SALC CEO, Sally Longmate - ceo@suffolk-alc.gov.uk. 

Here is a link to the survey https://consult.communities.gov.uk/local-government-reform-and-strategy/34514a08/.

Neighbourhood Governance Explained Simply

Neighbourhood governance means making sure that decisions about local issues are made as close as possible to the people who live in that area. Instead of all decisions being made by the main council or by people far away, neighbourhood governance gives local communities more say and involvement in how things are run where they live.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment (EDCE) Bill requires every local council to set up proper ways for neighbourhoods (which could be a village, town, or part of a city) to have a voice in local decisions. The government will set out exactly what counts as a “neighbourhood area” and what councils need to do to make sure these arrangements work well.

The main aim is to:

• Move decision-making closer to residents, so people who understand local needs can help shape what happens in their area.
• Organise public services better, so they fit what local people actually need. 

This doesn’t replace existing parish or town councils, but adds extra ways for all neighbourhoods to be involved—even where there isn’t a parish or town council.