Supporting local government
Sajid Javid talks to councillors about adult social care, housing, devolution and more.
Thank you Gary for that kind introduction, and for inviting me along to speak to you all today.
It바카라 사이트檚 great to be here at the Local 바카라 사이트 Association바카라 사이트檚 (LGA) temporary home.
I know some people have complained that I바카라 사이트檓 not as close to Gary as was.
But it바카라 사이트檚 not for lack of trying!
Look at it from my point of view.
In July I arrived at DCLG바카라 사이트檚 HQ, just around the corner from Smith Square.
Literally a 2-minute walk away.
By October, the LGA had moved to the other side of London!
It바카라 사이트檚 hard not to take that personally바카라 사이트�
That바카라 사이트檚 not the only grumble I바카라 사이트檝e heard.
Unlike my predecessors all the way back to Hazel Blears, I바카라 사이트檝e never served in local government.
That drew some criticism when I was appointed.
People were saying: 바카라 사이트淭his guy Javid, he doesn바카라 사이트檛 understand us. He was never a councillor. He바카라 사이트檚 just a banker바카라 사이트�.
Well, I think they said 바카라 사이트渂anker바카라 사이트�바카라 사이트�
But look, I don바카라 사이트檛 have to have been a councillor to appreciate what a phenomenal job you all do.
You really are the front line of democracy, our local heroes.
Last month, Ipsos Mori released their annual 바카라 사이트淭rust in the professions바카라 사이트� survey.
And, once again, local government was by far the most trusted tier of politics.
That바카라 사이트檚 no surprise.
For one thing, you바카라 사이트檙e directly responsible for many of the services that people use and rely on every day of the week.
You provide homes, take care of the vulnerable, protect consumers.
You educate our children.
You keep the roads open.
And you do so much more besides 바카라 사이트� including, of course, managing the service that troubles my mailbag more than any other.
You empty the bins!
Across this huge range of responsibilities, you do a great job.
These are tough times for all parts of the public sector, central and local government alike.
But your record in efficiency and delivery is second to none.
We asked you to do more with less and that바카라 사이트檚 exactly what you did.
Satisfaction with most council services has remained high.
Some services, such as road maintenance, even saw rises in satisfaction last year.
As I told MPs last month, there바카라 사이트檚 a lot that Whitehall can learn from councillors when it comes to delivering value for money.
So whatever tier of government you serve in, whatever party you바카라 사이트檙e from, let me say thank you.
Thank you for being willing to stand up, to put in the time and effort to represent your community.
And thank for you getting on with the job and showing just how effective and efficient local government can be.
I know it바카라 사이트檚 not been easy.
I know it바카라 사이트檚 not all plain sailing.
I know that what some of you want me to do today is stand here and promise additional funding for local government.
Well, there바카라 사이트檚 an old politician바카라 사이트檚 adage that goes:
바카라 사이트淓verything you want to hear I can바카라 사이트檛 say, and everything I can say you don바카라 사이트檛 want to hear.바카라 사이트�
But hopefully things won바카라 사이트檛 be quite that challenging today!
Because I get where you바카라 사이트檙e coming from.
No, I바카라 사이트檝e never been a councillor.
But since I became Secretary of State last summer I have worked tirelessly to get under the skin of local government.
I바카라 사이트檝e travelled the country, talking to councils of all types and political persuasions.
A week doesn바카라 사이트檛 go by that I don바카라 사이트檛 have councillors in my office, talking through the challenges they face and the support they need.
I recognise your innovation, your management and your local leadership.
And I understand your concerns.
One of the biggest, of course, is adult social care.
There바카라 사이트檚 no doubt about it, adult social care is a huge challenge for the public sector right now.
People are living longer, and that inevitably means greater demand for care services.
Every year you spend more than 拢14 billion on adult social care.
It바카라 사이트檚 one of the biggest cost pressures facing councils.
The last Spending Review put in place up to 拢3.5 billion of additional funding for adult social care by 2019 to 2020.
But I recognise that more needs to be done.
You, in local government, have a statutory duty to take care of vulnerable people.
But I believe that all of us have a moral duty to do so.
It바카라 사이트檚 what a civilised society does.
That바카라 사이트檚 why I was proud to fight for and secure more than 拢900 million of .
Longer-term solutions are needed, but this additional cash will make a huge difference here and now.
I바카라 사이트檓 afraid we바카라 사이트檒l have to agree to disagree on whether it바카라 사이트檚 so-called 바카라 사이트渘ew money바카라 사이트�.
I바카라 사이트檓 very clear that there is more cash available for adult social care than there used to be.
Nearly a billion pounds of it.
I know many of you, for various reasons, view things differently.
But let바카라 사이트檚 all be very clear on one point 바카라 사이트� whether it바카라 사이트檚 old money or new money, it바카라 사이트檚 all taxpayers바카라 사이트� money.
I바카라 사이트檝e heard some people object to the precept on Council Tax on the grounds that central government should pay for social care.
They바카라 사이트檙e missing the point.
Regardless of whether funding is raised or allocated by central government or local government, it is all raised by taxing the people of this country.
It바카라 사이트檚 not your money.
It바카라 사이트檚 not my money.
It바카라 사이트檚 their money.
And the social care precept means that their money gets spent in their areas supporting vulnerable members of their communities.
Of course, some local authorities will be able to raise less than others.
That바카라 사이트檚 why the Improved Better Care Fund, worth 拢1.5 billion by 2019 to 2020, will take into account councils바카라 사이트� ability to raise funding through the precept.
And we have listened to calls from across the board saying funding is needed sooner in order to meet short-term pressures.
That바카라 사이트檚 why we바카라 사이트檝e made available a 拢240 million Adult Social Care Support Grant for one year, distributed fairly according to need.
I can also give you all some reassurance today.
Like I said, I바카라 사이트檝e been talking to a lot of council leaders over the past 6 months.
And one concern that comes up again and again is the possibility that Attendance Allowance funding could be resourced from retained business rates.
Well, I바카라 사이트檓 listening.
Today I can confirm that the localisation of is no longer being considered as part of the business rates reforms.
I바카라 사이트檒l be announcing further details on business rates reforms shortly.
But I can tell you now that Attendance Allowance will not be included.
Let바카라 사이트檚 not pretend that increased funding is the only solution to the care challenge.
You can pour as much petrol as you like into your car; if the engine바카라 사이트檚 not working it still won바카라 사이트檛 go.
And there is variation in performance across the country that simply cannot be explained by different levels of spending.
Look at one of the biggest challenges in social care, Delayed Transfers of Care from hospital.
In some areas it바카라 사이트檚 a chronic problem, while others have virtually no delayed transfers at all.
In fact there바카라 사이트檚 a 20-fold difference between the best-performing 10% and the worst-performing 10%.
That can바카라 사이트檛 be explained away by differences in funding or demographics.
I know that most of the delays are down to the health service.
But a gap that size also has to involve some councils simply doing things better than others.
Look at Southampton.
It has reduced delayed transfers of care and unnecessary hospital admissions by integrating 7 health and social care teams into a single service under a pooled budget.
If you바카라 사이트檙e tempted to shake your head and say 바카라 사이트渢hat바카라 사이트檚 great, but things are different in the south바카라 사이트�, look at Northumberland.
拢5 million saved thanks to the council working with the local health trust.
Demand for residential care cut by 12%.
And those statistics aren바카라 사이트檛 just numbers on a balance sheet.
They mean more people managing their own health.
More people able to live independently in their own homes.
More people recovering with their families in familiar surroundings rather than being marooned on a hospital bed.
More efficient working is good for councils, good for taxpayers, and good for the people who matter most 바카라 사이트� those on the receiving end of services.
Health and social care should be fully integrated so that they feel like one service.
The is already supporting this with 拢5.3 billion of funding pooled between councils and Clinical Commissioning Groups last year.
But we also want to make sure that all local authorities learn from the best performers and the best providers.
So we will soon publish an Integration and Better Care Fund Policy Framework to support this.
And in the long term, we will need to develop reforms that will provide a sustainable way of working that benefits everyone who needs care.
Of course, social care isn바카라 사이트檛 the only big challenge on all our plates right now.
There바카라 사이트檚 also that most basic of human needs: housing.
For decades now, this country has not been building enough houses.
That바카라 사이트檚 not the fault of any one government or any one council.
But it바카라 사이트檚 a problem that we will all have to work together to fix.
The LGA has just made a great contribution to that with the report from its Housing Commission.
So thank you to everyone who worked on that.
My plan for getting homes built, the housing white paper, is going to be published shortly.
As you know, it바카라 사이트檚 not an easy challenge to overcome.
We want to make sure we get it right, that we make the biggest impact on the housing shortage that we can.
It wouldn바카라 사이트檛 be right for me to reveal everything that바카라 사이트檚 in the white paper before it바카라 사이트檚 published.
But I will say this much.
I바카라 사이트檓 not going to be tinkering around the edges.
The white paper will set out serious, lasting, long-term reforms that will boost housing supply immediately and for many years to come.
I know you바카라 사이트檝e heard that before.
But this white paper isn바카라 사이트檛 just about changing guidelines or passing legislation or cutting red tape.
It바카라 사이트檚 about a whole new mind set.
A whole new attitude to house building at all levels 바카라 사이트� in central government, in the building industry and, yes, in local government too.
Make no mistake, you will have a huge role to play in the future of house building.
You are the enablers.
You are the planners.
You are the local leaders.
Leadership, as you know, sometimes means taking tough decisions.
Unpopular decisions, even.
It바카라 사이트檚 not easy.
But we have to ask ourselves what kind of country we want to live in.
Do we want a divided nation, with an unbridgeable and ever-widening gap between the property haves and have-nots?
Where only those with wealthy parents can get a foot on the property ladder?
Where elderly people are forced to work well past retirement age in order to keep paying off their mortgage?
Where unfettered, unplanned and unhelpful development overwhelms communities who have no say in the matter?
Or do we want a country where anyone who wants to work hard and get on can ultimately afford a place of their own?
Where social mobility is boosted, the environment is protected, and quality of life is improved?
I know which one I want to see.
And the white paper will help bring it about.
Housing is a complex business.
Different people and different places have different needs.
There is no simple, off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all solution.
The same is true of devolution.
The Sheffield City Region and Cornwall, for example, are very different places with very different strengths and some very different problems.
And that바카라 사이트檚 why the devolution deal that바카라 사이트檚 right for one area might not be right for another.
The West Midlands will benefit from having a mayor, but not all areas will.
Just because Wiltshire has made a huge success of unitary status, it doesn바카라 사이트檛 mean all district councils should shut up shop.
Areas that opt for a directly elected mayor will always be in line for the greatest degree of devolution.
As I바카라 사이트檝e said before, I don바카라 사이트檛 want to devolve power without accountability.
But the whole of point of our approach to devolution and reorganisation is that it바카라 사이트檚 locally led to meet local needs.
It바카라 사이트檚 about bottom-up consensus, not top-down reorganisation.
The last thing I want to do is repeat the failed experiment of identikit regional assemblies imposed along arbitrary geographical lines and imposed from Westminster.
But let me be very clear 바카라 사이트� we are not going cold on devolution.
We have not lost interest, it has not slipped down our list of priorities.
Myself, my department and my Prime Minister remain absolutely committed to making existing deals a success.
And my door is always open to local authorities who want to put forward their own plans.
I want to see strong, effective, efficient local government in whatever form best suits your area.
If you can deliver that, I바카라 사이트檒l give you as much as I can.
After all, last June, the people of Britain voted to take back control.
We바카라 사이트檙e not about to reclaim power from Brussels only to hoard it in Westminster.
On the subject of Brexit바카라 사이트�
Earlier this week, as you바카라 사이트檒l have seen, the Prime Minister set out the core principles of our departure from the European Union.
And on everything from consumer protection to economic growth, local government is central to getting Brexit right.
Yes, we want to see a global Britain.
But that has to be built on firm local foundations.
I know my predecessor promised local government a 바카라 사이트渟eat at the table바카라 사이트�.
I also know the current joke is that he didn바카라 사이트檛 say which seat, at which table or even which building it바카라 사이트檚 in!
But, earlier this week, my colleague David Davis announced that he바카라 사이트檇 be sitting down with elected leaders.
And you can rest assured that I바카라 사이트檓 going to make sure your voice is heard.
Because whichever party you represent, I represent you.
I am your Secretary of State, your champion in Westminster, your voice in Cabinet.
I am proud to speak for you, I am proud to fight for you.
We won바카라 사이트檛 always agree on everything.
But this is a big, big year for local government.
Elections in counties and combined authorities, devolution deals being delivered, the Brexit process beginning, the housing white paper바카라 사이트�
And if we바카라 사이트檙e going to make a success of it we are all going to have to work together.
I바카라 사이트檝e talked about 4 of the big issues today.
I know there바카라 사이트檚 a lot more on your mind.
If I haven바카라 사이트檛 touched on something it doesn바카라 사이트檛 mean I don바카라 사이트檛 care about it, I just don바카라 사이트檛 want to spend the whole of this session talking at you.
For all the time I spend meeting with council leaders, the realities of my life and yours mean I don바카라 사이트檛 get enough opportunities to hear from other councillors.
And I really want to hear from you.
I can바카라 사이트檛 promise to give you the answer you want.
There may some questions where I have to hold up my hands and say 바카라 사이트淚 don바카라 사이트檛 know, let me get back to you on that바카라 사이트�.
But I can promise that I will listen.
That I will go on listening.
And that I will continue doing everything I can to support the single most important part of the public sector 바카라 사이트� our local councils.
Thank you.