Planning the ‘Big society’

In my London borough resides one of the capital’s few remaining outdoor pools.
Some 25 years ago, it was closed by the council, then reopened for a while by a community group and staffed by volunteers during the decade when apparently, there was ‘no such thing as society’. Then it closed again.
But there is a happy ending to this tale. Earlier this year, it reopened, newly refurbished, and funded by the same council which first closed it.
The moral to this story is that running local amenities is difficult, time-consuming and expensive. They are usually driven by small groups of dedicated, even obsessive residents who share a community of interest.
The question is whether there will be sufficient numbers of such determined people to provide the ‘Big society’ that PM David Cameron believes needs to take off, as spending cuts reduce the local state.
It is certainly true that the public need a sea change in their attitude to just what the local public sector can provide. The discussion earlier this year over whether it was legal under ‘elf and safety’ to shovel snow in front of your house was one example. Residents will have to be prepared to take more responsibility for services traditionally seen as the council’s.
Already, some ‘upper-tier’ authorities are looking at handing branch libraries over to community groups. If social enterprises can take them on, then they should be given the opportunity, when the alternative is closure. They also have a role in cross-cutting areas such as youth justice, youth services, mental health, employment, or leisure.
The paradox is that local area grants, which help develop community enterprises, are the easiest for councils to axe, as indeed they have been doing. And contracts with the voluntary sector are the first to be squeezed in a budget downturn, surely a case of extreme short-sightedness.
Let us not be under any illusion that councils will be able to walk away from services simply because social enterprises have filled part of the gap. The ‘Big society’ will continue to need support, often financial, and if fails, then the council will be left holding the baby.
Michael Burton, Editor, The MJ