A 'co-operative council' is one which puts communities so firmly in the driving seat that they truly determine what the council does. It empowers and supports tenants to run housing schemes, voluntary groups to run the services that are important to them and individuals to receive the sort of care they both need and want. Councillors in a co-operative council are facilitators, servants as well as leaders, and their budget priorities are decided with the active participation of voters, pressure groups, vested interests and others.
There is no such thing - yet - as a truly co-operative council. However, almost a third of Labour authorities, backed by the Co-operative Party, have stated that the principle of common endeavours for common good is their guide and are actively pursuing co-operative council status. A handful of Labour groups in opposition have adopted similar aspirations. Some, like Stoke, are exploring what the network has to offer.
The first council to adopt the co-operative approach was Lambeth, announcing in 2010 a three year strategy of consultation, feasibility and implementation. A rolling programme was adopted with youth services in the vanguard; the first of these will be transferred from the in-house council fold to a variety of community providers this month. 'We are taking a pragmatic approach and transforming those services that have the greatest capacity to change,' says Lambeth Council Leader Steve Reed, widely seen as the prime mover behind the co-operative council concept.
The Byker estate in Newcastle upon Tyne is now run not by council officers but by a Co-operative Trust of 'members' rather than tenants, though back in Lambeth it was decided to start with smaller services and involve housing estates later - demonstrating that even amongst those aiming to be co-operative councils there is no necessity for a common approach.
In York, where Labour assumed control last May on an explicitly co-operative platform, the authority is implementing a wide variety of initiatives under the co-operative banner. 'It's not intended to replace skilled professionals with volunteers,' says leader James Alexander, 'It is about giving local people choice and control over their public services.' The agenda is initially modest with a number of one-off services being run by trusts made up of local people and a corps of volunteers recruited to clear snow from public places.
Co-operative councils do not simply create co-ops or mutuals to run services. 'Co-operative' is an adjective as well as a brand: it describes an attitude rather than an administrative structure. In Oldham the council works with diverse partners to put community needs first as they develop Royton centre. This is cross-sector co-operation rather than a co-operative structure along Rochdale pioneer lines. Rochdale is also an early signatory to the co-operative council genre.
There is a question of wider political acceptability. The Co-operative Party is not afraid of controversy: back in the days of Tony Blair it was the only part of the Labour movement to give its unequivocal backing to foundation hospitals as a way of democratising a monolithic health service and empowering both patients and communities. Today it provides support and energy for the Co-operative Councils Network.
In the Purple Book, the 2011 credo associated with the magazine Progress, Reed and Liverpool City Council's Paul Brant firmly established the co-operative council concept as a mainstream political force within Labour thinking which nevertheless challenges many traditional shibboleths. They describe an empowering state rather than a paternalist one. The idea has attracted criticism, especially from the left of the Party, and inevitable allegations of 'sell-out' - in that the approach could be seen as giving credibility to the much derided 'Big Society'. It has political risks but nevertheless its supporters are adamant that it belongs inside the wider Labour movement, not outside. The Co-operative Party's Anna Turley explained 'In contrast to the Big Society, this is about creating a new type of active state - that works together with, supports and empowers civil society - not just leaving people to sink or swim'. When the Network was launched in the summer of 2011 Ed Miliband attended; shadow Communities Secretary Hilary Benn is a strong supporter, as is Progress stalwart Tessa Jowell.
Benn told a meeting of the councils in October 2011 'Local government has a proud history of innovation and co-operative councils are pioneering new approaches to give people more control over their local streets, communities and services.'
Rather than taking Conservative measures on board, the movement's leaders argue, they are using available tools to avoid the impotence that cuts normally bring. The Localism Act, the Social Value private members' bill and even 'free schools' can all be implemented along co-operative lines. Indeed, Manchester's Co-operative College already sponsors academy schools and is shortly to open a new Trust school in Dorset. In Brighton and Hove the Labour opposition has criticised the ruling Green Party for having cold feet on co-operatives, calling on them to support a model of school sponsorship based on mutualism as a practical alternative to the anarchic concept of free schools.
Trade unions are watching the co-operative council model with interest and some are warming to it. In Newcastle the unions see co-operative working as infinitely preferable to privatisation, a way of subverting the Conservative-led government's agenda. Often the enthusiasm of council staff, union members, to grasp the opportunity to give the service they deliver more focus through mutually owned enterprise - from tree surgery to day care - has proved unstoppable.
Whether empowering public sector workers, charities, service users or voluntary groups, such as those now running Lewisham's libraries, the co-operative model has the potential to improve service focus, generate customer satisfaction, create a sustainable delivery model and even produce efficiency savings. That no two councils are following an identical path is a sign of strength, evidence that the drivers are bottom up and not top down.
The pioneers of co-operative councils are just two years into an initial phase of development. They are striving to educate councillors, staff (especially those with commissioning responsibilities) and communities about the opportunities that the approach might bring. The network of councils designed to share good practice and generate enthusiasm is still young; these are early days. But time is of the essence: a background of cuts is not where they would choose to start from and electoral cycles, both local and national, are generating a sense of urgency and a desire to 'get on with the job'.
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