Left out in the cold

摘要

The first tier of local government -parish and town councils - is nothing if not resilient. Best value for the largest 41 councils, an enhanced accounting and audit regime, some 100 new coun-cils created, and now the Government's Quality Local Council scheme, have all been enthusiasti-cally embraced in recent years. And what does the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister make of this? Well, judging by the 10-year vision, with its single reference to the existing established first tier, not very much. Why is this? Particularly when there is such emphasis within the vision on the importance of neighbourhood, and the need for community capacity-building?