Agenda Item No___12_________
THE COUNCIL’S APPROACH TO INITIATIVES ARISING FROM COMMUNITY RIGHTS
UNDER LOCALISM
Summary:
This report sets out the Council’s procedures for
implementing actions in response to Community Right
to Challenge and Bid and what the Provisions mean for
communities and the Council.
Options considered:
The following options were considered as a Council
approach to processing Expressions of Interest and
Nominations that are required through Government
regulations relating to Community Right to challenge
and Community Right to bid.
Consider community expressions of interest and
Challenges through existing Council committees. This
approach however, may lack the focus required to
develop officer and member knowledge and awareness
of the particular regulations set out by Government, or
enhance the processes adopted and required for
considering aspects of legal and financial procedure.
Conclusions:
This report has reviewed the current provisions that
Government have provided to support the local
community interest in running local government services
as well as the procedures for listing assets of
community value. It sets out how the Council should
respond in respect of enabling communities develop
their ambitions under the Community Right to Challenge
and Right to Bid processes, and identifies the sort of
issues and requirements that may arise from an asset
and service management role. More specifically the
report has assessed the implications and actions that
members and officers may wish to consider when taking
forward actions that could support the Council’s
strategic decision-making and delivery of various
approaches under the Localism agenda.
Recommendations:
Cabinet is asked to resolve:
1. That a ‘Localism Board’ (comprising relevant
Cabinet members and officers) be set up to
provide a steer with respect to Localism
initiatives and community projects
(particularly in relation to expressions of
interest for local public services (under the
Community Right to Challenge) and
nominations for assets of Community Value
(under the Community Right to Bid)). Noting
that decisions resulting from the Board’s
recommendations (with appropriate local
member involvement) would be reported to
Cabinet/ Council as appropriate.
2. That the process identified in Appendix F be
adopted in respect of expressions of interest
for local public services (under the
Community Right to Challenge)
3. That the process identified in Appendix G be
adopted for the consideration of nominations
for assets of Community Value (under the
Community Right to Bid).
Reasons for
Recommendations:
The Council is required by law (Localism Act 2011) to
implement regulations under Community Rights to
Challenge and Bid. The recommendations provide the
most appropriate means by which the Localism Agenda
can support the wider community in North Norfolk. For
the Community Right to Challenge and Right to Bid to
be effective, the Council must ensure that sufficient
information is made available and that due processes
are established and followed within the regulation’s that
have been approved.
LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW
(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published
elsewhere)
Localism Act 2011
Public services (Social Value) Act 2012
Cabinet Member(s)
Ward(s) affected - ALL
Cllr T Ivory
Contact Officer, telephone number and email:
John Mullen; 01263 516104; john.mullen@north-norfolk.gov.uk
1.
Introduction
1.1
This report identifies the need for the Council to consider its role in enabling
community interest in order that community organisations can access opportunities
to manage local public services and/or have assets of community value listed by the
Council. These two strands of localism require the Council to develop processes that
can identify and action key responses in order that it is both compliant with the main
regulations and offers sufficient information and action that will help meet community
aspirations under these provisions. The 2013/14 NNDC draft Annual Action Plan
supports the development of Community Rights to Challenge initiatives stating that:
“We will respond positively to a Community Right to Challenge to take over the
running of services within their area/communities if they can be run more efficiently”
1.2
The Localism Act sets out the Government’s intention to “meet the challenge to
deliver better for less”. Community Right to Challenge is one of the five key
measures that sit at the centre of the Localism Act that support local areas in driving
up community engagement and new efficiencies while seeking to deliver improved
public services. This report deals specifically with the Rights to Challenge and Bid,
however, by way of context, the main Localism measures are outlined on the
Council’s website at: http://www.northnorfolk.org/community/9992.asp and Members
will be updated on any specific implications of other provisions at a future meeting.
1.3
The Right to Challenge
Communities, through representative groups named as “relevant bodies,” are
provided with the opportunity to submit expressions of interest to compete in a
procurement exercise for the running of local services which they feel can improve
the “economic, social and environment well-being of the local area” (i.e. creating
jobs, improving skills, increasing volunteering, improving environmental
considerations,” reflecting the definition of “social value” embedded in the 2012
Public Service (Social Value) Act).
1.4
The Right to Bid
Communities have the capacity to nominate private and public assets that can be
proven to have social value (Assets of Community Value) for their local areas. The
Right provides the opportunity for the community to identify land and/or premises in
their areas that are considered to be important to the future well-being of those
communities. The nominations of assets of Community Value can create a window
of opportunity (moratorium on the sale for a period of up to six months) to generate
sufficient finance to secure private/public assets before being sold on the open
market.
2.
Community Right to Challenge – Processes and NNDC’s response
2.1
The main recommendation of this report that is to set up a Locality Board in respect
of developing the procedures that are required to receive and process Community
Rights to Challenge expressions of interest. The new Board would be expected to
provide both a strategic steer for the Council under the issues presented by the
Communities Rights approach and both agree and develop clear and timely actions
that will ensure compliance with the Government regulations.
As of 27 June 2012 the Community Right to Challenge (CRTC) came into force as a
measure of the Localism Act. CRTC enables communities to express an interest in
providing local authority* services (*county, district, unitary, fire and rescue
authorities, and London boroughs).
This measure provides the opportunity for “relevant bodies” (voluntary (i.e. nonprofit), community groups; charities; Parish Councils; or employees (two or more) of
the relevant local authority) to express an interest in providing or assisting in
providing a relevant service on behalf of the local authority ahead of that service
being part of a procurement exercise that will open up competition for the service to
all other interests.
The function of any service subject to such an expression of interest will remain with
the local authority; it is the provision of that service that will be subject to challenge.
2.2
Statutory processes for the LA to undertake are as follows
The administration of the Right to Challenge measure is subject to statutory
guidance (summarised in Appendix F, as issued by the Department for Communities
& Local Government (DCLG), Local authorities are expected to develop a response
to any expressions of interest in relation to the following:
1. the information that is required in the expression
2. the grounds whereby the expression may be rejected
3. the notification of decisions on expressions and the period for handling the
expression to the point of commencement for the commissioning of the particular
service
2.3
Information required by NNDC in an Expression of Interest (EOI)
•
Information about the financial resources of the relevant body submitting the EoI
(and that of any consortium members or sub-contractors that may be involved).
•
Evidence that demonstrates that by the time of any procurement exercise the
relevant body submitting the EoI (as well as any consortium members or subcontractors that may be involved) will be capable of providing or assisting in
providing the relevant service.
•
Information about the relevant service sufficient to identify it and the
geographical area to which the expression of interest relates.
•
Information about the outcomes to be achieved by the relevant body or, where
appropriate, the consortium of which it is a part, in providing or assisting in the
provision of the relevant service, in particular:
- How the provision or assistance will promote or improve the social, economic
or environmental well-being of the relevant authority’s area; and
- How it will meet the needs of the users of the relevant service.
•
Where the relevant body consists of employees of the relevant authority, details
of how that relevant body proposes to engage other employees of the relevant
authority who are affected by the expression of interest
2.4
When expressions of interest can be considered
NNDC is required only to accept written expressions of interest from the relevant
body specified in section 2.1. If the Council through the Locality Board has decided
and published the period for any particular service to be commissioned it is not duty
bound to consider an expression of interest outside of this period. The authority can
request further information from the relevant body but need not make this
information a basis on which to reject the challenge.
Providing a set period every year for receiving expressions of interest provides the
Council with an opportunity to develop a clear and defined process that can set the
parameters for ensuring services are prepared for any expressions of interest being
submitted and the Relevant Bodies making the Challenge are aware of the period
that those expressions can be received and therefore trigger the processes laid out
in the following paragraphs.
There may also be a requirement to give more time for the procurement process
given the scale and scope of particular services that are larger, more complex and
therefore may demand lengthier assessment. The Council also has the power to
refuse an expression outside any period that it has set for considerations of
expressions, although local authorities have not got exclusion rights to prevent
expressions being received outside set periods.
Providing a set period every year for receiving expressions of interest provides the
Council with an opportunity to develop a clear and defined process that can identify
a period by which Heads of Service can ensure that any challenges within their own
service procurement timescales are managed and assessed.
2.5
Grounds whereby an Expression of Interest may be rejected.
Local authorities, having published the specific period for consideration of
expressions of interest, must then provide either a positive request for the relevant
body to proceed to the commissioning phase, or reject the expression on one or
more of the particular grounds as detailed below:
1. The expression of interest does not comply with any of the requirements specified
in the Act or in regulations.
2. The relevant body provides information in the expression of interest which in the
opinion of the relevant authority, is in a material particular inadequate or inaccurate.
3. The relevant authority considers, based on the information in the expression of
interest, that the relevant body or, where applicable(a) Any member of the consortium of which it is a part, or
(b) Any sub-contractor referred to in the expression of interest
is not suitable to provide or assist in providing the relevant service.
4. The expression of interest relates to a relevant service where a decision,
evidenced in writing, has been taken by the relevant authority to stop providing that
service.
5. The expression of interest relates to a relevant service (a) provided, in whole or in part, by or on behalf of the relevant authority to persons
who are also in receipt of a service provided or arranged by an NHS body which is
integrated with the relevant service; and
(b) The continued integration of such services is, in the opinion of the relevant
authority, critical to the well-being of those persons.
6. The relevant service is already the subject of a procurement exercise.
7. The relevant authority and a third party have entered into negotiations for
provision of the service, which negotiations are at least in part conducted in writing.
8. The relevant authority has published its intention to consider the provision of the
relevant service by a body that 2 or more specified employees of that authority
propose to establish.
9. The relevant authority considers that the expression of interest is frivolous or
vexatious.
10. The relevant authority considers that acceptance of the expression of interest is
likely to lead to contravention of an enactment or other rule of law or a breach of
statutory duty.
2.6
National Support for Relevant Bodies considering Community Right to Challenge
The Government is currently providing finance for advice and funding that is being
delivered through national intermediary bodies including Locality, Social Investment
Business, ACEVO. The funding support for developing the Community Right to
Challenge is summarised as follows:
Pre-feasibility
Pre-feasibility grants (for amounts of up to £10,000) are available to help
organisations to build internal capacity to help them to compete to deliver public
services.
Feasibility
Feasibility grants may be made available to organisations that are able to
demonstrate that they have good potential to compete effectively to deliver public
services. These grants are for up to £100,000 and can be used to support
organisations in preparation for competing in procurement bids.
Service delivery grants
There will also be a small number of service delivery grants. These grants will not be
available by open application but Social Investment Business (SIB) will invite
applications from relevant bodies against a set of criteria which will be published on
both the Community Rights website and the Social Investment Business’s website. It
is expected that many of these service delivery grants will include a repayable
element; therefore they are a mix of loans and grant.
2.7
NNDC will provide help and advice to organisations seeking to develop appropriate
Challenge opportunities and, via the ‘Enabling Fund’ (recommended to Cabinet in
the report on the review of the Big Society Fund) may be able to provide some
match funding.
2.8
Procurement process
The Right to Challenge regulations provide opportunity for Relevant Bodies to
achieve a basis from which they have the capacity to develop a business case
ahead of the procurement for relevant Council services. The Council will provide
sufficient notice of the procurement deadlines that will provide a reasonable period
for the Relevant Body in which to develop their business case ahead of any
procurement process. The Procurement stage of the process for running or
managing a particular service (once the pre-procurement stage has been complete)
will then be open to competition under existing Council procurement rules.
3.
Community Right to Bid
3.1
The Community Right to Bid as it relates to local assets (land and property) provides
third sector organisations and local parish and town councils with the opportunity to
have assets that are deemed to be of “Community Value” listed for a period of 5
years. ”Assets of Community Value” are defined as - “buildings or land used to
further the social wellbeing in particular, though not exclusively, the cultural,
recreational or sporting interests of the local community.” The key aspect of the
Community Right to Bid process concerns the window of opportunity that the
successful listing of an asset provides to the relevant community body before a
property can be legitimately sold. Therefore from the point at which an asset may be
put on the market, the relevant community body (that has already managed to have
the asset successfully listed with the Council), has a six month period (from
notification of a sale by the owner) to then secure the finance to compete with other
potential bidders for the right to purchase the asset. Within the six month moratorium
period the asset cannot be sold on by the owner.
3.2
Community Rights to Bid (nominations and listing) process
The following process is proposed, specifically in relation to the role of the Locality
Board, as a key part of developing the Council’s approach to the Community Right to
Bid.
NNDC (under the guidance of the Locality Board) will determine the format of the
list, any modifications made to any of the entries on the list and any removal of an
entry from the list.
A community nomination must come from a parish council, a community council or a
locally connected voluntary or community body. The nomination has to be made for
land or buildings in the nominee’s local area.
If NNDC deems that the asset does have community value, and it is in the local
area, than it will add that asset to the ‘assets of community value’ list.
If the nomination is unsuccessful NNDC will notify the nominee in writing and provide
an explanation as to why the nomination was unsuccessful.
NNDC will notify the landowner, the occupier and the community nominee of any
inclusion or removal of an asset to the list.
A landowner can ask NNDC to review the inclusion of the asset from the list. The
Regulations state that the owner can ask for a review of the listing 8 weeks from the
date that the written notice has been given to the owner by the Council.
NNDC will also maintain a list of ‘land nominated by an unsuccessful
community nomination’.
If land is included in the list of assets of community value it will remain on that list for
five years.
Within the Regulations there are defined processes for compensation claims that
can be made by the owner against loss and expense incurred through the asset
being listed or previously listed. The grounds for compensation will be considered by
the Council and must relate solely to a period of delay while entering into binding
agreements to sell that may be caused by the interim or full moratorium periods. The
Government have made certain provision within the new “burdens funding” and state
that they will make compensation payments arising out of successful claims of over
£20,000 in one financial year, either from one single claim or several smaller claims.
3.3
Local Authority duties
The Council has to consider each nomination (in written form) made to list an asset
of “Community Value” that falls under the national regulations enacted in October
2012. The proposed process for nominations, decisions and listing an asset are
summarised in Appendix G. The Regulations have presented the need for there to
be a basic process in response both to service challenges and asset nominations
ensuring at the same time that the Council has one point of contact for the
nominator, asset owner and other officers/members to engage in the processes that
are required by law.
3.4
National support for Right to Bid
The Government has provided resources to various intermediary national bodies
(Locality/Social Investment Business and ACEVO) to provide a range of support
measures from advice through to capital grants that can enable local communities
develop their plans to bid for assets of Community Value, these are as follows:
3.4.1
Pre-feasibility grants
Pre-feasibility grants (for amounts up to £10,000) are available for organisations to
build their internal capacity to prepare to take receipt of an asset transfer or, else, a
bid to buy land and buildings of community value.
3.4.2
Feasibility grants
Feasibility grants may be made available to organisations that demonstrate they
have the potential to meet local needs through the acquisition and management of
land and buildings. These grants are mixed capital and revenue for amounts of up to
£100,000 and can be used by organisations to develop investment proposals and
carry out feasibility studies equipping them to take ownership of assets through
discounted transfer or, else, bid to buy land and buildings of community value.
3.4.3
Similarly to the Right to Challenge, NNDC will provide help and advice to
organisations seeking to develop appropriate bid opportunities and, via the ‘Enabling
Fund’ (recommended to Cabinet in the report on the review of the Big Society Fund)
may be able to provide some match funding.
3.4.4
Capital grants: Community Assets – Under the Hammer
The Social Investment Business was initially accepting expressions of interest under
a first cohort round of funding for the capital element of the Community Assets and
Services Grants (until 8 February 2013). These grants are available for the purchase
of assets identified either through Right to Bid or Community Asset Transfer.
Expressions of interest are encouraged from exemplar organisations that can
showcase pioneering community-led service delivery and can inspire similar
initiatives across the country.
4.
Conclusion
This report sets out the current provisions that Government has laid down to support
the local communities develop their interest in running local government services
and the processes for listing “assets of community value”. It sets out how the Council
should respond in respect of enabling communities develop their ambitions under
the Community Right to Challenge and Right to Bid processes, and the sort of
issues and requirements that may arise from an asset and service management
role. More specifically the report has assessed the implications and actions that
members and officers should consider when taking forward actions that could
support the Council’s strategic decision-making and delivery of various measures
under the Localism agenda.
5.
Implications and Risks
The implications and risks for the Council in relation to the recommendations of this
report are considered to be modest given that the report recommends that the
Council recognises the importance of developing an approach that has been
considered in the report and therefore recommended to be set within the context of a
new Locality Board.
6.
Financial Implications and Risks
The financial implications that can be highlighted under the Community Right to
Challenge and Right to Bid have been considered on the basis of developing the
Council’s approach to the measures under the context of setting up a Locality Board
as recommended in the report.
7.
Sustainability
It is not thought that there should be any major sustainability issues that may impact
on the role the Council has within the Community Rights provisions. However,
consideration on individual case by case basis would be appropriate on individual
nominations for assets of community value and expressions of interest by relevant
bodies to manage council services. Therefore, assessment will be required to be
made so that the Council will be satisfied that through any actions taken there will be
no detrimental or adverse impacts on the environment.
8.
Equality and Diversity
Equality and diversity issues, as with sustainability and crime and disorder
considerations, may not viewed as relevant through the policy and procedures that
are agreed under the Rights to Challenge and Bid, but nonetheless should be
considered on an individual basis through assessing nominations or challenges that
come forward under the measures that have been described within this report.
9.
Section 17 Crime and Disorder considerations
Crime and Disorder considerations should be viewed and action decided on an
individual basis through assessing nominations or challenges that come forward
under the measures that have been described within this report.