- Conference
- 2016 Local Government Service Group Conference
- Date
- 1 January 2016
- Decision
- Carried
Conference is aware that local authorities are in unprecedented financial times.
Conference notes:
1)the major changes taking place in the role of local government;
2)the government has now announced that it will end contributions from the national taxpayer through the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from 2020/21 and the reduction in revenue support grant of more than £7bn during the life of this parliament;
3)this grant is vital for paying towards the costs of providing local services. By 2019/20 local councils will lose £75 out of every £100 that the government spent in 2015/16.
4)that these reductions will have consequential changes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland through the Barnett formula;
5)the further reductions in central support to the cost of providing local services in both Wales and Scotland announced as part of their local government finance settlements.
6)the decision taken by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the last budget to reduce Business Rates. The result of this will be to widen the gap between the shortfall of the loss of revenue support grant and the ability to raise monies locally through Business Rate taxation.
Our members pay and terms and conditions are being eroded, careers ended and incomes slashed. The Conservative Government is intent on rolling back the state. According to the National Audit Office, local government has lost £37 out of every £100 since 2010/11.
The Office of National Statistics state that there are 660,000 less people employed in local government since 2007. The loss of local government jobs has impacted particularly on women members, who are disproportionately represented in the local government sector. All the evidence suggests that when local government services are outsourced terms and conditions are adversely affected; zero hours contracts are commonplace and the impact on women, particularly those with caring responsibilities, is immense.
Conference believes that these further reductions will result in further critical damage to local services, the continued loss of discretionary services, increases in charges, substantial further job losses and are also likely to result in further attacks on the terms and conditions of UNISON members working in local government and the detrimental effect on local economies.
UNISON has a proud record of fighting to retain in-house services, thus protecting the jobs, pay and terms and conditions of these members. However, there is now a new threat to our members.
To offset this, councils are being encouraged to outsource to the private sector, trading companies or public sector mutuals.
However, there is another way to stop outsourcing through income generation. For some councils this is easier than for others. Local authorities do have the power in law to use charging powers and generate income through:-
a)Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Act 1970;
b)Environmental Protection Act 1990 (commercial waste), Section 45;
c)Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976: Sections 11 (renewables), Section 19 (leisure), Section 38 (surplus computer capacity);
d)Local Government Act 1972 (entertainments), Section 145;
e)Local Government Act 2003, powers to invest, Section 12;
f)Buy and sell land: Local Government Act 1972, Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and Housing Act 1985;
g)Local Authorities (Land) Act 1963 (development);
h)Local Government Act 1988 (privately let housing),
i)Local Government Act 1972, staff secondment, Section 113;
j)Building Act 1984 (works), Section 97;
k)Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, Section 32;
l)Civic Restaurants Act 1947;
m)Local Government Act 1972 (acceptance of gifts and incidental works), Section 139;
n)Localism Act 2011, General Power of Competence.
o)Road Traffic Act 1988 (MOT), Section 45
It is clear that income generation, used properly, can be an effective alternative to the wholescale privatisation and outsourcing of services, with the resultant impact on local government members’ terms and conditions.
Conference recognises the importance of income generation by local authorities in this context and calls on the service group executive to work with Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) to provide support and guidance to branches to promote income generation, using existing powers, through trading and providing new paid for services both to the private sector and to individuals.
Conference therefore calls upon the local government service group executive to: –
i)Work with regions and branches to raise awareness of income generation through in-house services or limited use commercial trading companies to offset the loss of income from central government grants;
ii)Develop guidance on understanding the legal framework for income generation for branches and regions to help in negotiations;
iii)Encourage members to lobby their councillors on income generation and present motions in favour of increasing income to balance the budget;
iv)Establish a regular newsletter for councillors to keep them up to date on issues concerning income generation as an alternative to privatisation and outsourcing;
v)Build relationships with councillors through Regional/Provincial NJC councils;
vi)Work with UNISON’s Labour Link to promote income generation.
But conference also recognises that the loss of revenue support grant marks the end of funds raised through national taxation contributing to the cost of local services for the first time in living memory.
Conference calls on the service group executive to campaign for the restitution of the revenue support grant and to provide support, resources and guidance to branches and regions to enable a sustained campaign to be undertaken whose principal objective is to convince government MPs that the policy (of ending revenue support grant) will irreparably damage the social fabric and is wholly inconsistent with the provision of good local public services designed to meet the needs of local communities.