Local government energy action in the UK: from service delivery to community leadership

Joanne Wade and Amanda Pearson, Impetus Consulting, United Kingdom
Brooke Flanagan, Energy Saving Trust, United Kingdom
Rachael Knowland, Impetus Consulting, United Kingdom

Keywords

local government, climate change, UK policy

Abstract

In October 2006 the UK government published a new Local Government White Paper. This policy statement set the framework for the role of local government in the coming years.

The White Paper is one stage in the latest wave of local government reform in the UK. This reform has aimed to refocus attention away from delivery of specific services and towards community leadership, particularly with reference to sustainable development.

Climate change is given some emphasis within the White Paper, and should become one of the indicators against which local government performance is measured.

This paper examines energy action in local authorities in the past few years, in a situation where most, but not all, were still strongly focused on service delivery. By contrasting this with the results achieved in authorities that have taken a community leadership role, the paper examines the potential of the White Paper.

It addresses the following questions: does local government have the capacity to deliver increased local action on climate change? Does the UK policy framework support and encourage development and deployment of this capacity? And do the national and regional bodies that provide support for local authorities need to change the services they offer in light of recent policy developments?