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Communities
The Work Programme for 2006
1. Introduction
The Creating Sustainable Communities Policy Commission brings together the two previous policy commissions of Transport, Housing, Local Government and the Regions and Quality of Life.
The new commission will look at how we deliver on our aim to build stronger, inclusive communities with decent homes, clean and safe environments, good transport links, first class public services and a strong economy providing jobs and creating the necessary conditions to ensure year-on-year investment.
As a party we have made considerable progress on creating cleaner, greener, safer communities, where people want to live and work. However, the new commission will face a number of key challenges as we develop our sustainable communities policy agenda.
The commission will need to look at how we will tackle road congestion in the long term, how we can deliver on our commitment to empower local communities, and how we will meet the housing needs and aspirations of future generations in urban and rural areas.
The commission will also look at climate change, which poses the biggest threat to our environment and following our successful bid for the Olympics and Paralympics, the commission will need to consider how the UK will make the most of this unique opportunity.
2. Work programme
Empowering local communities
The Labour Party believes that decisions should be taken by or as closely as possible to the people affected by them. We want to put more power in the hands of local people so they can shape the places where they live. This means that we need to give local people more power to change the things that matter to them and develop the role and functiO'l1S of local government to be more responsive to local needs.
Since 1997, we have introduced a number of important changes to local government, including the separation of executive and scrutiny roles to enable councillors to engage with their local communities more effectively and Local Area Agreements, which have given councils greater freedom and flexibility to find local solutions to local problems. However, still too many people feel distanced from politics and unsure how to address the issues that face them on a day to day basis.
In our 2005 general election manifesto we committed ourselves to encouraging councils to devolve more power to local neighbourhoods. The proposals are not to establish a new tier of neighbourhood government, but develop new powers to enable people and communities to tackle the issues that concern them. It is crucial that we stimulate a wide-ranging and informed debate with all stakeholders on what these new powers should include and how to ensure that councils and councillors continue to play a leading role in their areas.
As part of this debate it is also vital that we look at the role local government will play in supporting stronger communities and meeting the needs of local people. The Lyon's Inquiry, set up to look at local government funding, has recently been extended to look at the form and function of local government. The government decided to extend the remit of the inquiry because it was felt that there needed to be a clearer and more complete picture of what we want local government to do before we tackle how it will be financed.
The commission will consider the issues around this review and how we can deliver strong leadership for local government, a focus on the neighbourhood level, innovative service delivery, and value for money. A key part of this process will be for the commission to engage in the debate and listen to the views on local government reorganisation and the potential of city regions to deliver strategic leadership for their areas.
Affordable housing
Labour's aim is to ensure that everyone has the chance to live in a decent home at a price or rent they can afford. As a party we have achieved a great deal over the last eight years: over one million new homeowners, non-decent social homes down by one million, rough sleeping down by three quarters, an end to the long-term use of bed & breakfast accommodation for families, 19,000 hectares added to the green belt, exceeding our 60 per cent brown-field land target, and raising housing density so that we can build more homes on less land.
However, we face serious challenges both in the short and long term to meet housing needs. Constituency Labour parties have made numerous submissions to the commission concerning the lack of affordable housing in their areas. Demand for houses is increasing every year, with house prices rising in every region, while supply is simply not keeping up with demand.
Over the past 30 years we have seen a 30 per cent increase in households and a 50 per cent drop in new homes built. It is not surprising then that first-time buyers are finding it difficult to get onto the housing ladder. Currently over 50 per cent of 30-yearold couples can afford to buy, but if building rates continue at the current level, then that will fall to nearer 30 per cent over the next twenty years. It is clear that unless we act now, we will fail to meet the housing needs and aspirations of future generations.
Housing pressures hit those on low income hardest. In high cost areas, key workers have difficulties finding homes near their work and the economy suffers too as businesses struggle to recruit.
In her independent review, Kate Barker concluded that the UK needs a step change in housing supply. Our aim must be to accommodate that growth in a way that is environmentally sustainable and create mixed communities where there are decent, quality homes. It is vital that the communities that we create are sustainable in the long-term - this requires a high level of infrastructure: decent transport systems, decent schools and hospitals and all the facilities that help sustain our neighbourhoods are essential parts of all new developments.
Following on from the Government's response to the Barker Review, the commission will look at the package of measures the Government has brought forward to tackle present and future housing demands. In particular the commission will look at the proposal for a new planning gain supplement, the planning reforms aimed at making the system more market responsive and measures to mitigate the environmental impacts of increased housing growth.
Social rented housing is a key element of Labour's housing strategy. The party's commitment to social housing is set out in our manifesto pledge to increase the annual supply of new social housing by 50 per cent. We are also granting councils new powers to bring empty properties back into use and have introduced a new prudential borrowing regime which councils can use to increase expenditure on housing.
Following recent resolutions at annual conference, the future role and funding of social housing remains a key issue that the commission will need to address. In particular, how we ensure that all social housing is of a decent standard and that local councils continue to play an active role in providing decent, affordable homes for local people; from homes for first-time buyers to care housing for the elderly.
It is vital that local authorities play a leading role in housing provision and that they are provided with the freedoms and flexibilities they need to fulfill this role. The commission will also look at the future role of housing Arms Length Management Organisations and housing associations, looking particularly at innovations such as the Community Gateway model.
In rural communities the lack of affordable housing is particularly pressing and one of the areas on which further work is needed from the policy commission. Labour understands that rural residents want their children to be able to afford to live in the towns and villages where they were brought up, and rural businesses and public services cannot operate without housing for their employees.
We have set an increased target for the number of rural homes, improved planning policy and increased the resources going to local authorities to address real need. During the general election campaign we committed a third term Labour government to establishing a Commission on Rural Housing. Since the election, we have begun the process of setting up the commission, which will explore measures to ensure local residents and their families can have access to affordable housing, it will examine a range of options such as cooperative ownership or shared equity to see which work well in a rural setting.
Climate change
With Labour, Britain is leading efforts to tackle climate change. Climate change is the biggest threat to our environment. The scientific consensus is clear - climate change is happening. Recent floods, droughts and storms across the UK show how vulnerable we are to climate extremes. Globally, seven of the ten warmest years on record were in the 1990s.
The issue of climate change has received considerable attention within both the party and the Government. By making climate change and Africa the top two priorities of the G8 summit, Labour in government helped establish a dialogue between the G8 countries and the leaders of the five emerging economies (such as China) to discuss future international action on climate change.
Following on from the work of the Quality of Life Policy Commission, and the emphasis within our final policy documents, our manifesto committed the party to a number of important proposals to meet the challenge of climate change. These included a commitment to developing renewable energy sources and a 20 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions on 1990 levels by 2010.
We have already made progress in reducing emissions. The UK emissions of greenhouse gases were 13.6 per cent below the base year in 2003, exceeding the target of 12.5 per cent in the Kyoto Protocol. This is an achievement that is the envy of many countries. Labour has also chosen to adopt a national goal of reducing UK carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2010. At present we are due to fall short on this target.
As well as looking at how climate change can be tackled at a national and international level the commission will also want to consider what more the government can do to encourage more individual and localised action on climate change, for example, promoting greater energy efficiency, which is the cheapest way of cutting carbon emissions for households and businesses.
The contribution of transport to climate change in the UK will also be a key issue for the commission to address. Transport is currently estimated to produce a quarter of total UK emissions of C02, the main driver of climate change. Labour in government is working in partnership with key stakeholders to encourage switching to more environmentally friendly modes of travel, develop cleaner, greener transport, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Progress towards these goals is currently being made by encouraging cleaner driving through differential taxation that favour cleaner fuels, giving financial assistance to the sale of cleaner vehicles and the conversion of engines to use cleaner fuels. Action is also being taken to ensure that aviation bears its full external costs, including environmental costs. The commission will look at how transport can make its proper contribution to reducing C0 emissions, including through, a European emission trading scheme and so achieving Labour's climate change commitments.
We launched the Climate Change Review in December 2004 to consider what more we need to do in order to meet our ambitious target on reducing carbon dioxide emissions. There are other important issues upon which the Government is undertaking work such as the development of our energy policy, support for renewable energy and the development of bio-fuels.
The Climate Change Review will be publishing its findings in February 2006 and will set out how the Government can meet its climate change targets. The Sustainable Communities Policy Commission is interested in discussing the specific action that needs to be taken in order to meet our climate change targets. There is also an Energy Review underway at the moment, which has important implications for our efforts on climate change. There are clear cross cutting issues between the Prosperity in Work Policy Commission and the Creating Sustainable Communities Policy Commission on issues relating to British energy policy. The two commissions will need to work together in looking at these important issues.
There will inevitably be some difficult decisions and trade-offs to be made in arriving at the right package of policy proposals to meet our domestic and international targets on climate change. The commission will play an important role in stimulating debate and assisting the voluntary party in debating the issues around climate change.
Reducing congestion
Labour is committed to developing a reliable, safe and integrated transport network, which enables people to make choices about how they move within and between communities, in a way that respects our environment.
To improve our transport network we need to do three things: a sustained, long-term programme of investment, better management of our transport system to make the most of existing and new capacity and plan ahead for the challenges we know we will face in the future.
In government we have made considerable progress on these objectives. We have doubled spending on transport infrastructure since 1997, and invested substantially to improve public transport and provide greater choice. We are also extending throughout the country free local bus travel for people over 60 or with disabilities. Bus and rail use are both on the rise and we will continue to build on these successes, for instance, through quality partnerships, quality contracts and other measures, to improve local bus services where appropriate.
Traffic congestion is also being tackled by making better use of our current road space through the piloting of new systems of traffic management, including car-pooling lanes for cars with more than one passenger on suitable roads and through the introduction of traffic management officers. We are also encouraging more environmentally friendly travel - cleaner motoring, better options for walkers and cyclists, and strategies to mitigate noise and improve air quality.
These measures will help manage congestion, but even with them, in the long term congestion will continue to rise. Projections of traffic growth suggest Britain will face serious widespread congestion in the next 15-20 years if no radical action is taken. Too often governments have had to focus on managing the transport problems of the past rather than confronting the problems we can see we will face in the future. This is why the Creating Sustainable Communities policy commission has chosen to look in detail at the third prong to our approach - how we meet our long-term transport needs.
In our manifesto we said we would seek a 'political consensus in tackling congestion, including examining the potential of moving away from the current system of motoring taxation towards a national system of road pricing: Road pricing is a means of paying differently for how we use our roads. A national road pricing scheme has the potential to dramatically reduce congestion and give people a better choice as to when and how they travel. Road pricing would be one part of a package of measures alongside improved public transport and other alternatives.
Since the election we have started a national debate about road pricing and the commission will have a key role to play in this debate. The debate is moving from theory to practical application as specific technologies are being put to use for satellite-navigation or pay-as-you-drive insurance. The Government has recently awarded funding to seven different parts of the country to explore the role of managing demand on roads in their areas, including through tools such as road pricing.
There are a number of important issues we will need to resolve to demonstrate that road pricing can be successfully introduced. We need to respect privacy and ensure provisions are made for data protection and the protection of civil liberties. We also need to work out how the prices would be set. And we need to make sure that a system works at a reasonable cost, with clear benefit to road users, as well as the country as a whole.
A system of road pricing will only work if it is part of an integrated approach to reducing congestion. The provision of good quality, passenger-led, public transport will be central to this approach. The commission will look at the role different modes of transport can play, including buses, trains, walking and cycling, in reducing congestion in the long term, by enabling people and goods to move around the UK and between communities more easily.
Preparing for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games
Winning the right to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is the greatest honour sport can bestow. This is one of the proudest wins ever for Britain and British sport. We have been given an extraordinary opportunity to host the world's greatest event and to transform sport in our country.
The decision was not just a victory for sport. Winning the 2012 games will deliver huge economic, transport and cultural benefits to London and the rest of the UK. Construction of the Olympic Park will transform the Lower Lea Valley in East London bringing much needed investment and regeneration to one of the UK's most deprived areas.
Winning the chance to host the Games was also a tribute to London's cultural diversity. International Olympic Committee members recognised that London is the city where the world comes together, a place where diversity is not just tolerated, but celebrated. And it will leave the UK with a real Olympic legacy: thousands of new jobs and new homes, new business for British companies providing services and facilities for the Games and a proud sporting legacy, inspiring a fresh generation to get active and stay healthy.
Over three-quarters of the people in the UK backed London's bid. We are determined that the 2012 Olympics will be a Games for the whole country and all our people. Having secured the right to host the Olympics, we now need to set about delivering the best Games ever .
We have promised practical support to enable the next generation of sporting champions to realise their ambitions. Schools, businesses and the Government are all to play new roles to boost the chances of Britain's medal hopefuls in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The new measures include:
- The creation of a new Trust Fund, which is a ten year programme with business backing, to provide additional funding to help the gold medalists of the future.
- Everyone of the 411 school sport partnerships will be asked to nominate two Ambassadors to act as community representatives for the Olympic Games.
- Our youth Ambassadors will be a vital link between schools and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, keeping young people in touch with what's going on and getting the input of the 2012 generation into the Games.
- Setting up an annual national school sport festival to showcase sporting competition and talent.
- Government working with British Airways and others to create a new 'Passport' to enable elite competitors and promising young athletes to benefit from cheaper air travel.
- In conjunction with the Mayor and Transport for London, the provision of free travel for talented athletes on the capital's public transport system, to help our top athletes gain access to the training they need.
The first National Lottery scratchcards to fund the Games have been launched and have already raised millions to build the stadiums and prepare our aspiring athletes. The work is underway to create the Olympic Park, our London Olympics Bill, which enables us to take the next step, is going through Parliament and we are putting in place the talented women and men we need to deliver the infrastructure and run the Games.
Furthermore, we are putting in place plans to ensure Britain's £75 billion tourist industry fully exploits the opportunities presented by the 2012 Olympic Games. The industry must be ready for the Games and ready to create a legacy that benefits the whole country.
Many high profile heads of the tourist industry, including representatives from the Eden Project, Centre Parcs and Liverpool 2008, have agreed to sign up to a Tourism 2012 Charter. This commits the industry to driving up standards in Britain's 180,000 tourism businesses, making attractions and accommodation accessible to disabled visitors and improving the skills of tourism workers.
Holding the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics on home soil is a great honour and a once in an era opportunity for British sport, British business and of course British tourism - this will be the biggest visitor event in UK history. And it will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to inspire a new generation of young people to get active and realise their potential. Our challenge now is to ensure that the whole country benefits, in the run up to and long beyond the Games. The commission will look at how this might be best achieved, for instance, by exploring the role Regional Development Agencies will have in ensuring our regions benefit from the Olympics' legacy.
The commission will be an important vehicle for examining the benefits the Games will bring to London but also to the rest of the country, and for disseminating information among Labour members. But more than this, commission members will want to be at the forefront of efforts to ensure that the new jobs, economic benefits and sporting legacy are distributed appropriately and fairly throughout our communities. Lastly, the commission can play a unique communication role and will also feed back to ministers concerns and issues arising from contacts with our stakeholders.
Finally, the commission may want to consider what can be learnt from the successful London Olympics bid in respect of future sporting events like Glasgow's bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and England's bid for the 2018 football World Cup.
3. Next steps
Annual Conference 2005 agreed new proposals improving Partnership in Power. The improvements give policy commissions a crucial leadership role In ensuring the success of the next PIP cycle by, for example, providing better engagement on topical issues, building an ongoing relationship with party stake holders who have made policy submissions, as well as looking at Innovative ways policy commissions can work to help with their thinking on future policy development.
This work plan outlines the policy challenges and the topical issues facing the Creating Sustainable Communities Policy Commission in the year ahead. They provide a focus for the commission's work and help party members understand the current work of the National Policy Forum.
The policy commission will consider how to manage the engagement on these issues with party stakeholders, which will include prioritising the policy areas, putting forward a timeframe and proposing the best method of engagement depending on the policy issue under consideration.