Further evidence session:Central and local government relations
9 December 2010
This panel will focus on what consequences codification or other change in the relationship between central and local government could have on the accountability of local authorities to elected local politicians, local people and central government.
Witnesses:
Thursday 16 December in the Wilson Room, Portcullis House
10.00am
- Bill Moyes, Associate at the Institute for Government
- Jessica Crowe, Executive Director, Centre for Public Scrutiny
10.30am
- Simon Parker, Director, New Local Government Network
- Jessica Crowe, Executive Director, Centre for Public Scrutiny
At 11.00 am
- Sir Simon Milton, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Policy and Boris Johnson’s Chief of Staff, Greater London Authority
Purpose of session
The purpose of this session is to explore constitutional and practical issues around the possibility of codifying (or formally writing down) the principles and mechanics of the relationship between central and local government. Questions likely to arise include whether the responsibilities of central and local government need to be more clearly defined, the extent to which the activities and powers of local government could be protected against encroachment from the centre, how decentralisation and codification could affect how local government is run, and the relevance to England of how these issues are handled in other parts of the United Kingdom.