It was standing room only in the Palace of Westminster’s Churchill Room as senior councillors and chief executives of district councils mixed with MPs and peers to discuss the unique value that district councils can offer.

The meeting was hosted by the APPG’s chairman Sir Brandon Lewis MP, who said: “I believe in district councils. They have a hugely important role to play.”

However, Sir Brandon noted that districts faced a period “uncertainty”, with Local Enterprise Partnership powers moving to county councils in two-tier areas, despite districts having existing responsibility for economic development. He urged everyone present to “make it clear to Government, prospective governments and civil servants of the valuable role [district councils] play.”

Professor Colin Copus, Emeritus Professor of Local Politics at De Montfort University, made a similar point, saying the challenge of the district sector was to “show them that size doesn’t matter”.

He described the local government finance system as “irreparable”, noting that while English authorities had limited ability to determine their own funding, Belgian municipalities were able to pick from 90 different tax options to fund themselves.

“Districts deliver,” was the message of Cllr Bridget Smith, DCN Vice Chair and the Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council. She noted her council had proportionately housed the highest number of Ukrainians escaping war and, working with its Integrated Care System, was using 19 village-based wardens to support older people to live independently.

“We deliver for Government, for business, for people, every day of the year,” Cllr Smith added.

Cllr Susan Brown, DCN Vice Chair and Leader of Oxford City Council, spoke about how districts could lead on economic development, with her own council contributing to the conditions which led BMW to invest £650m to ensure a new generation of Minis were built there. The authority is working on a £5m scheme which it is hoped will see a rail branch line to Cowley currently used only for freight to reopen for passengers.

And Jonathan Werran, chief executive of the Localis thinktank, highlighted how districts’ convening power could bring about a uniquely localised and powerful place leadership.

While our challenges are significant, our localised ability to overcome them is unique.

Mr Lewis, who served in a variety of ministerial roles over the past decade, was confirmed in the role yesterday.

The Great Yarmouth MP started his political career in local government and became Leader of Brentwood Borough Council in 2004, holding the position until 2009.

After entering Parliament in 2010 he went on to serve as Communities and Local Government Minister, followed by Planning and Housing Minister, before holding other roles including Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He left Government in October last year.

Mr Lewis said: “I know from my time as Brentwood Council leader that district councils have the most direct links to their communities, giving them a unique ability to support their residents. District councils play a vital role in local government, and I am therefore delighted to become APPG Chair.

“There is more we can do in Westminster to ensure that district councils have the recognition they deserve. I am keen to protect and enhance their status and look forward to working on a cross-party basis to help bring this about.

“District councils have been at the forefront of the drive to support their communities during the pandemic and now amid the rising cost-of-living. They have delivered in the past when they have been called upon and will do so in the future, especially if given the support to thrive from Government.”

He also recorded a statement on his appointment to the role. This can be seen here.

Councillor Sam Chapman-Allen, chairman of the DCN, said: “I am delighted that Brandon has kindly agreed to take on this role to support district councils from the Houses of Parliament.

“District councils have achieved so much in recent years – growing their local economies, safeguarding the environment and promoting public health and leisure, helping to prevent ill health and taking the burden off the NHS. With greater support through the national policy agenda, for instance to give us greater freedom over our finances, we can achieve even more, and we look forward to working with Brandon to help make this happen.”

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for District Councils has released a new report “Delivering the District Difference” which you can download using this link.

As part of their recommendations in the report, the group has called on the government to empower districts with “suitable local flexibilities and incentives” to stimulate growth in the forthcoming spending review. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for District Council has also urged the Government to take immediate action to prevent over 70% of district authorities falling into a position of negative Revenue Support Grant in 2019/20.

Mark Pawsey MP, Chair of the APPG for District Councils, said:

“Districts are home to 22m people and they are the level of local government that is closest to residents. There is nothing more important to enable district authorities to deliver for their residents and businesses than ensuring they have suitable and sustainable levels of funding.

“To achieve this, we call on the government to be bold and take a new approach. We want to see districts empowered with freedoms and flexibilities to stimulate the local economy. We also urge the Government to commit to retain current incentives that are successfully supporting districts to deliver the homes the country needs.”

The MPs also state that they received overwhelming evidence about the role districts can also play in supporting the government to meet its housebuilding targets, and in creating a sustainable future for social care and health services.

The report highlights the importance of incentives, such as the New Homes Bonus, in building more homes with a majority of districts stating that the bonus continues to provide an appropriate incentive for communities to support local housing development in its current form, although many councils highlighted the negative impact of recent reductions to the bonus. MPs recommend the government reverses its introduction of a 0.4% baseline threshold, which for some authorities has led to loses in revenue of up to £1m.

The APPG also received evidence from districts of their enthusiasm for the potential of a ‘prevention precept’ that would see districts to add a 2% precept on council tax, similar the social care precept available to authorities that deliver social care. According to the District Councils’ Network, this could raise £26m a year and deliver savings many times that amount as every £1 spent on preventative measures such as home adaptions can lead to savings of up to £70.

The District Councils’ Network has welcomed the report. John Fuller, Chair of the District Councils’ Network, said:

 “This Parliamentary report demonstrates that district councils have been hardest hit by reductions in spending power. But districts are best placed to grow the national economy one local economy at a time as local planning and housing authorities.

“Districts are an integral part of the Local Care System – our role in ensuring decent housing, homelessness and debt management reduces demand for social care and solves problems one family at a time and puts the Health Service on a more long term sustainable footing.

“By reversing the decline in district spending power and rewarding our innovative approach to health prevention, the Government has the opportunity to ensure districts drive local economic growth and reduce the burden on adult social care into the next decade and beyond.”