The Big Society? It’s already here

The government’s localism agenda will return real power to local communities. But it is in danger of damaging the excellent work already being done by the huge numbers of volunteers working in almost every sector, argues RICHARD KEMP

Over the past 10 months I have attended countless seminars, conferences, workshops and think-tank sessions on the meaning of ‘Big Society’. I am afraid that after all those (and at some of them I was a guest speaker) I am none the wiser. Having even listened to its great guru, Lord Wei, the concept is still magnificently opaque.

So am I condemning the Big Society? No, I still warmly welcome it as a direction not a programme, as a statement not a policy. If it means anything, it means the transfer of power to and through councils to communities. I have been trying to achieve that for the past 40-plus years as a Liberal (Democrat) activist. Now I am being empowered to a higher level than for many years not by think tanks but by three Bills which, when enacted, will give a fundamental transfer of power away from Whitehall.

Many people sneer at the Localism Bill for all the bits and pieces (100-plus) that the Secretary of State will be able to direct in a perverted sort of ‘guided’ localism. My argument is that the impact of the Act will be whatever we make of it. It is in some ways an enabling Act not a compulsory Act.

Major responsibility

 Similarly, the Health Act is one that is malignly talked about but has a significant transfer of power to local GPs and communities, with the council holding the ring. Councils will have the major responsibility for shaping health services in their area by the quality and promotion of the joint needs assessment. They will also be able to work with willing GPs through the commissioning process to look at new methods of delivering services and a new involvement of GPs in wider public-sector activity.

Another Act soon to come into force concerns policing. All the talk is about the elected police commissioners. Yes, that is a bonkers notion, but most of the rest of the Bill, such as the new police boards and the return of real licensing powers to councils, can only be welcomed.

So, there are lots of good things going on that will return real power to local comm- unities. Councils, councillors and public agencies can use those powers to talk more to people, listen more to people and shape services around what the people want rather than we think they should want. My fear, however, is that the government doesn’t actually realise that Big Society is already with us and does not need introducing. Indeed, a further fear is that a desire to do new things in new ways with new people will damage the excellent work being done by countless numbers of volunteers who work in almost every sector.

In our book on community politics, published last autumn, my wife and fellow- councillor Erica Kemp and I guesstimated that there were up to 3,500,000 people in the country who could be described as regular long-term volunteers. They work in so many ways that it’s almost impossible to list them. They run churches; scouts’ clubs; amenity groups; tenants associations; charity shops; branches of the Women’s Institute; resident associations; youth clubs – well, the list is endless. They do everything from planting woodlands to running steam railways; to caring for the mentally ill; to running hospices – again, an endless list. On top of that, there are many more that will do something from time to time, if asked to raise some funds, get petitions organised or help with school trips – again, an almost endless list.

All those volunteers need co-ordinating and there is a very small army of people who assist them. Clergy of all denominations; community development workers; tenant liaison workers; charity coordinators; head teachers; hospice managers; librarians – again, an endless list. But a list that’s already lengthy is being threatened by cuts. In Liverpool, we are having to dispense with some excellent work done by Liverpool Charity and Voluntary Services which enables support work to be given to volunteers and residents’ groups throughout the city. So, somewhere we will be taking on volunteer coordinators (it all sounds a bit like Mormon missionaries to me) and at the same time we will be cutting back on volunteer coordinators! Are you following the logic here? Let me try again. New people with no roots who are not part of an established and successful operation will replace people with roots who are part of an established and successful operation. You’re right – there is no logic to this.

In all three cases given above there will be a massive amount of work to convert an Act of Parliament into reality on the ground. The real work starts when the Act is passed into law and the deliverers take up the new responsibilities. For localism to work there will need to be a massive culture change in the way everyone in the public sector does business. There will also need to be changes in the way in which our partners work. As a councillor, I need to challenge both third-sector and private-sector partners to make as much change in their thought processes as I am going to have to make to mine if they want to engage with us and get our business.

We will need to behave differently. ‘Thinking out of the box’, ‘being enterprising’, ‘being innovative’ and ‘taking risks’ are not skills that are prevalent in most people within the public, private or third sectors. We will need to be all four if localism is truly to work.

Councillor Richard Kemp is Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group of the Local Government Association and has been a member of Liverpool City Council for 28 years.