Local public services and the local economy

The health of the local economy is crucial for the local community. Local authorities make a major contribution to the local economy through the infrastructure and support services they provide and promote, through direct employment and through the jobs they sustain through their expenditure and that of their employees. During the 1980s a number of local authorities sought to develop their strategic role as instigators and facilitators of economic development. However, the significance of that role and the expenditure, both capital and revenue, of local authorities has had a relatively low profile in the recent debate about economic recovery and recession in Britain. However, with the Treasury demanding an overall reduction of 2 per cent in the level of local government expenditure as part of the 1993 public expenditure round, it is even more important now for local government to develop public support for the provision of local services. Some councils are now seeking to demonstrate to their local communities (including the local business community) how important expenditure by the local authority is to the local economy and therefore to the wellbeing of the local community. They are seeking to show what effects cuts in council budgets will have on businesses in the local economy and the local economic climate in which they operate. In doing so, they are winning new allies in the debate about local service provision, changing the nature of the debate, and developing new working relationships between local government, the private sector and the voluntary sector. This article looks at the experience of one such authority, Harlow.