He warned that action would be stepped up against councils the government considers to be failing.
“[Intervention] could include the transfer of functions to other providers, placing the council under administration, and giving stronger councils or other public bodies a role in running failing councils,” a DTLR spokesman explained.
The announcement comes as part of a new national system of comprehensive performance assessments for councils based on Public Service Agreements and Best Value.
Councils will be judged on ‘performance profiles’, and classified as high-performing, striving, coasting or poor-performing.
On taking up his post after the election, Byers said he was “shocked” by the diminution in local government powers over the last 20 years. And he told parliament this week: “I want to tackle the trend towards excessive central prescription and interference”.
The maze of inspections, council ratings and plans would be streamlined, with the number of council plans cut initially by a third, Byers pledged.
Ring-fenced funds, such as area-based initiatives would be stabilised, with a view to phasing them out, and Local Strategic Partnerships would feature more prominently.
Local government minister Nick Raynsford said the intervention at Hackney council in London earlier this year might provide a blueprint for future actions. The government had worked closely with the Audit Commission on the case, he said.
But John Perry, policy director at the Chartered Institute of Housing, said the prospect of poorly performing councils having their housing management functions wrested away from them was “remote”.
“I would be surprised if it was used for this,” he said.
Source
Housing Today
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