While the Queen set out the agenda for next year in the State opening of parliament,the chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit(LGiU) has accused the Queen speech of repeating “Groundhog Day” pledges.
According to the local government think tank, the speech is a repetition of the old pledges. “we’ve heard it all before” when it comes to the promise to develop a sustainable social care system.
Jonathan Carr-West further adds that local government is “as far as ever” from being funded in a sustainable way.
The LGiU says it welcomes the government’s commitment to further devolution of powers, but adds a warning not to repeat the past.
“It’s essential that we give local communities more control over the places they live, but we must learn the lessons from the devolution process of 2015 and ensure that we do not focus on process and growth at the expense of democracy and public service reform,” Mr Carr-West says.
This further reminds the readers that the idea that sustainable development across all sectors starts from the grassroots is a fact that we all know, but often times when the state make policies, it tends to deviate to the upper side of sustainability graph.
