This briefing provides an update on councils’ progress in relation to the use of the Wellbeing Power.

Background

The Wellbeing Power was introduced through the Local Government Act in 2000. It makes provision for all principal local authorities in England and Wales to do anything that they consider likely to promote the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of their area unless explicitly prohibited elsewhere in legislation. As such it excludes the raising of council tax.

The power is intended to be a ‘power of first resort,’ empowering local authorities to develop new ways of undertaking existing activities, as well as providing additional scope and flexibility to innovate.

Between 2003 and 2007 there was been an ongoing evaluation of the use and impact of the Wellbeing Power and this month the overall findings of the study were published. This briefing will examine this report and its conclusions.

The publication of these reports was accompanied by a speech by John Healey MP in which he argued for the greater use of this power, especially in the current economic climate. Mr Healey argued that the current economic downturn provided an opportunity for councils to show leadership, with the wellbeing power the perfect vehicle to cut through bureaucratic and legal obstacles.

Main findings of the research

The evaluation of the use of the Wellbeing Power show that:

• use of the Wellbeing Power was limited, with local authorities tending to use more specific powers to achieve their goals. A 2006 report on Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) revealed that only 8 per cent were making use of the Power
  
  
• early use of the Power focused on economic and environmental objectives · awareness of the Power was varied across the local public sector awareness and understanding was highest among local authority corporate officers and executive members and lowest among partners and the voluntary sector
  
  
• the Power has had less of an impact on promoting community leadership than other measures, specifically community strategies and LSPs
  
  
• lawyers played a central role in encouraging or discouraging use of the power, yet the majority were cautious about its use

Current use of the Wellbeing Power

The research has shown that when the Wellbeing Power has been used by local authorities, it has been done in a number of ways including:

• to spend, provide lending and to give financial assistance
  
  
• to support partners, set up contracts, companies and joint ventures as well as taking shares. For example, in Torbay, the Power has been used to set up a public-private regeneration agency (see footer note)
  
  
• exercising functions on behalf of other bodies including integrating services and pooling budgets · to provide staff, goods, services, or accommodation. For example, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea have used the Power to provide additional Police Community Support Officers

In undertaking these activities, local authorities have approached the use of the Power in various ways. For example, some local authorities have used the Power for reassurance when undertaking an existing activity, but where the existing legal power was uncertain. In other cases where the legal powers for a particular activity were missing, the Power has been used out of necessity.

The evaluation also shows that the Power has been used as a ‘power of first resort’ in order to negate the need to specify a range of different legislation when carrying out an activity. In addition the Power has often been used symbolically, allowing councils to provide a visible sign that they are using new approaches and activities to respond to the challenges for the locality.

Raising the profile of the Wellbeing Power

Key recommendations

The evaluation made a number of recommendations for local authorities to adopt in relation to increasing the promotion and awareness of the Wellbeing Power. These included:

• maintaining electronic information systems that give access to relevant advisory materials
• giving periodic updates on the essentials of the wellbeing power to elected members to promote awareness and confidence
• providing training and support for lawyers to promote confidence in their use of the Power
• establishing the range of powers available to LSP and LAA partners, so that all are fully aware of the legal, as well as policy tools available to achieve joint objectives

Footer note: Torbay Development Agency Ltd (TDA), as a company limited by guarantee without share capital. This is included as a case study in the practical use of the wellbeing power report  published by CLG.