Let councils take the decisions – and the blame

Let councils take the decisions – and the blame

If there’s something strange in your neighbourhood, the coalition wants you to call ‘bureaucracy busters’. This may sound like an irritating bit of alliterative spin, but
it’s actually one of the government’s most radical proposals. The idea is to help individuals and community groups overcome the regulations and government restrictions that stand in the
way of innovation at a local level: in other words, to clear a way for the big society.

Bureaucracy busters is the brainchild of Greg Clark, the minister for decentralisation. Clark has a degree from Cambridge and a doctorate from the LSE, and is astute enough to have grasped that
politicians can’t do things alone. As he struggled with the bureaucratic maze of his own department, he realised how difficult it must be for the public to make their way through the
regulatory obstacle course. If innovation was to come from the ground up — as the coalition wants it to — the people would need help.

Clark’s plan is that any community-minded citizen who is running up against the dead hand of local bureaucracy will be able to call and request the help of his bureaucracy busters. This
epitomises the coalition’s approach to localism. Rather than just viewing it as handing power down from Whitehall to local authorities, they are trying to pass power all the way down to
individuals.

Most popular

Julie Burchill

Aimee Lou Wood should stop moaning about her teeth

The Localism Bill, which will be introduced into parliament towards the end of this month, is described by Clark as an exercise in antitrust law. Its aim is to stop local government from abusing
its dominant position. Crucially, the bill is intended to give people rights against government at every level.

The high-minded reason for doing this is that both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats want to strengthen the power of people and weaken the power of government.