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Your Rights Under the Local Government Act 2000

By: Jeff Durham - Updated: 8 Mar 2022 | comments*Discuss
 
Local Government Act Making Local

The Local Government Act 2000 covers a number of issues regarding local government policies and procedures. In terms of its direct correlation to members of a local community, the Act places a greater emphasis on the need for local government to improve the social wellbeing of communities across the whole spectrum, including addressing the needs of teenagers and younger children residing within the community in particular.

How This is Achieved

The aim is to devise a strategy which promotes and improves the economic, social and environmental prospects of a local community by creating partnerships between other bodies and local organisations. By working together a community can be developed that all residents can be well served and proud of.

This can be achieved by the coming together of local authority departments that are responsible for areas such as housing, education, social services and leisure to work in partnership with the likes of the police, health services and other independent organisations and private businesses that all have a vested interest in the success of a local community.

Creating a Vision

It’s important that, as residents, you have the right to have your say with regards to the sort of decisions which the above organisations might reach. Of course, these organisations will make their well-intended decisions in an attempt to improve the community in which you live, but it is vital that they listen to the local community at grass roots level. It is your right as a resident to be able to articulate your own thoughts and ideas with regards to any needs and priorities you have, as well expressing your own aspirational ideas for what you want your community to consist of. In essence, it’s the coming together of all the public, private, community and voluntary organisations in consultation with local residents who can achieve these aims for you.

On a Broader Level

Although not directly related to you as residents, the Local Government Act 2000 is also aimed at making your local authority more accountable for its actions, and for it to adopt an ethical framework for things like the conduct and accountability of council members, as well as introducing a national standards board and adjudication panel to deal with internal disciplinary issues and complaints. All these implementations would have no direct bearing on residents themselves but there would inevitably be indirect benefits as a result.

One of the more radical proposals which came out of this Act was to move away from the old traditional ‘committee-type’ model when it came to decision making matters, and to select a more executive model containing a cabinet of ruling party members, possibly including a directly elected ‘mayor’, subject to a local referendum being held.

Basically, in this transformation and shift of power from central to local government, this Act enables local authorities to have more power in terms of how they manage their finances. This should mean that they have more freedom and flexibility to spend money on resources which will directly benefit the citizens of their local community, as the resources can be targeted at specific projects and initiatives which the whole community can benefit from as a result.

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I have a neighbor who spreads and tells lie about me to people Ive never meet. As a result I am ignored by neighbors whom I have no argument with or have done anything to give them cause for this attitude. His son uses the driveway to park his work car on, this is not allowed by law because it restricts emergency access to the driveway. When He has been tackled about this his reply is: its my land and I will do what I want. Should a dog foul his grass that is next to a public footpath, he goes out and flicks it into the road. Hes been told about this by another neighbor but continues to do so. If you try to approach him to talk about his behavior he goes off on one, rants and raves waving his arms around then goes into his house and slams the door. He is a retired 82 year old who is very belligerent. He and his wife think they are a cut above everyone else and look down there noses at others. How do I manage this?
Lee - 28-Jan-19 @ 2:20 PM
I live in a flat above a couple who are clearly mentally unstable.I am like a church mouse and very quiet.I had a breakdown before I moved here and this home was meant to be for healing.These people bang aggressively on the ceiling with the smallest sound I make, and Ive heard them do it to others too.I feel sick and wont approach them because I feel afraid.The police did nothing, the housing did nothing.I am very depressed and its making me ill;and desperate to move. When I read in the article to call the police I shouted at the screen.What on earth are they going to do?They never care
close_to_suicidal - 6-May-17 @ 8:33 PM
I am being bullied by my neighbour and sutton housing association. This is the second time this has happened. I did not want to ever return to sutton. I was bullied in the first housing association place. As soon as I moved into the second housing association place, well a few days later, the neighbour stuck an abusive letter through the door that was full of blind rage at how dare I be in the flat and the antisocial noise I was making by walking across the floor or turning on a tap. The housing association took the neighbours side even though this woman had now also tried to follow me to the park and I had been shook to the core over the insanity and hatred in the letter, also the mental health services said it was an extremely nasty letter. The housing association then phoned me and said that if I kept upsetting the neighbour, I would be evicted. By now my uncle had died and I had cried in the flat. during the conversation also they have Made Clear to me that as soon as my parents die, they are getting everything and that is the only reason that they put me there after they were going to evict me from the first housing association place. They have made it clear they are to recieve everything of my parents in No uncertain terms, even though they may evict me when they chose. You would think then that I should be allowed some peace. I have taken 6 monthe of thewoman in the flat beneath me bellowing my whole flat down for hours on end in what can only be described as extreme psychotic rage, also slammingdoors. This is whenever she suspcts I am there. I am a nervous wreck I have recently told the housing association to evict me as I am just being made iller and iller with no escape. My parents, one my father in his very late eighties are very very ill. My back story as to why I ended up in a housing association place is my millionaire ex partner of over twenty years ran off with a twenty year old and the coucil dumped me in a hostel for ex convicts and told me to kill myself for years, and I am supposed to count myself lucky that I was given a place years later, threatened with eviction and then given another place and threatened with eviction, please help.
piglet - 22-Mar-17 @ 3:56 PM
@OO. We don't know the details of the case.it depends whether he was acting on behalf of the council at the time we guess? You could address this with the Local Government Ombudsman
ProblemNeighbours - 13-Jan-15 @ 9:50 AM
Hi Is it lawful for a Council (South Tyneside) to fund a court action by Council member for defamation and libel claiming damages, from an anonymous blogger in the American Courts. Regards, George Smith
00 - 10-Jan-15 @ 2:44 PM
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