Press Story

The report - called Equality, Entitlements and Localism - argues that localism could provide the best model for delivering services in a way that is more democratic, more cost effective and more efficient. But at the same time, councils and other bodies mustn't be allowed to go too far with 'no frills' budget airline type models - where only the basic services are delivered for free, and everything else is paid for. This would inevitably lead to the poorest people in the poorest areas getting the worse service.

To ensure that localism works without increasing inequality and disadvantage the report argues that two steps need to be taken:

A national set of rights and entitlements needs to be put in place which guarantee minimum levels of public service provision for everyone
The new Public Sector Equality Duty(1) needs to be imposed on service deliverers - councils, voluntary and community groups, and private providers

The report author, Dr Phil McCarvill, a visiting Senior Research Fellow at ippr, said:

Everyone, it seems, is a localist now. Decentralising the delivery of services so that providers are much closer and more responsive to service users offers a route to the double whammy of better and cheaper services. But the big danger with this very attractive approach is that that 'pushy and vocal' middle class people shape services to suit themselves, while poorer groups and minorities, who have less of voice but more need of some services, get ignored.
We've come up with a simple solution which would allow localism to flourish but would avoid increasing inequality. If everyone was aware that there are a set of guaranteed entitlements for key public services and that the Public Sector Equality Duty was applied across the board, service providers could be set free to do their own thing, but they would be obliged to take into account the needs of poorer people and minorities.

Notes to editors

1. The new Public Sector Equality Duty forms part of the Equality Act 2010 and is scheduled to come into effect in April 2011. It places a proactive legal requirement on relevant public authorities to consider the impact of what they do for a range of communities and groups. The onus here is on the public authority, not the service user, to ensure that it meet the requirements of the duty and to adjust its policies and activities accordingly.

2. Equality, Entitlements and Localism is available for free download at www.ippr.org/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=757

Contact

Tim Finch, Director of Strategic Communications: 0207 470 6106 / 07595 920899 / t.finch@ippr.org
Phil McCarvill, Visiting Senior Research Fellow: 020 8690 6804 / p.mccarvill@ippr.org