Denham to put residents 'in the driving seat' with local government shake-up

Councillors could be given new powers to scrutinise and investigate public services of all kinds in their area on behalf of voters, under plans being unveiled by Communities Secretary John Denham today.

Mr Denham said the change would put residents "in the driving seat" and give them greater confidence when they vote in local elections that they are electing someone who can take action on their concerns.

At present, citizens complaining about a problem in their community can get only limited help from their elected councillor unless the service involved is directly provided by the local authority on which he or she serves.

Under proposals being issued by Mr Denham shortly for consultation, councillors could be given a more formal role in looking into problems relating to services delivered by quangos and other organisations spending public money.

He will today tell the Local Government Association conference in Harrogate: "In exactly the same way that local people can write to their local MP on any issue and that MP will then take up that cause with the relevant Government department or organisation, local people, through their councillor, should be able to do the same thing at local level.

"People need to know that when they go to vote they are electing someone who can act on their behalf in relation to every aspect of public spending in the community.

"That means rebalancing the current system to put the citizen first and put them - through their councillors - more firmly in the driving seat."

At present, some of the key bodies which spend public money are not accountable to local councils, and report only to people within their own organisation and those responsible for inspecting them.

Extending the reach of local councils would allow them more scope to scrutinise, investigate, and raise issues with the providers of the public services in their area, ensuring voters get a response to their concerns, said Mr Denham.

And he said it would also extend councils' accountability to local people, as public services would be more answerable to councils making them in turn more answerable to the public.

The conference, which brings together representatives of 423 authorities across England and Wales, will today also hear from Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable.