Localism Act 2011

Background

The Localism and Decentralisation Bill began its journey through Parliament on 13 December 2010 and received Royal Assent on 15 November 2011, becoming an Act of Parliament: Localism Act 2011 (PDF).

Secretary of State for Local Government and Communities Eric Pickles said "Today marks the beginning of a historic shift of power from Whitehall to every community to take back control of their lives”.

‘Localism’ is a major part of the coalition government’s programme and sets the foundations for the ‘Big Society’, through which the government is seeking to promote a much more active, participatory approach to democracy.

This Act is major piece of legislation affecting a wide range of existing housing, planning and local government legislation some dating back decades.

The Coalition Government’s stated aim for the Bill was to “reverse years of creeping state control” and shift power from central government back into the hands of individuals, communities and councils - allowing local people the freedom to run their lives and neighbourhoods in their own way.

Large sections of the Act are dependent on later regulations being issued by the Secretary of State and are therefore not yet in force. They will come into effect in the coming weeks and months, with different parts of the Act coming into effect at different times.

Key Measures in the Act

The Act “takes power from central government and hands it back to local authorities and communities - giving them the freedom and flexibility to achieve their own ambitions.”

Taken together the measures in the Act mean:

New freedoms and flexibilities for local government
New rights and powers for local communities
Reform to make the planning system clearer, more democratic and more effective
Reform to ensure that decisions about housing are taken locally

Among the changes are giving councils a new general power of competence and introducing neighbourhood planning.

Please see the Department for Communities and Local Government's (DCLG) own summary of the key measures. The DCLG has also published an updated version of the plain English guide to the Localism Act (please see below).