Making things better
There's really only one reason to use a Local Management Agreement - to improve things. If the Agreement doesn't improve the range or quality of local services, or give people more control over them, what's the point in having it?
EXAMPLE: You and your neighbours may think you can provide the cleaning service more cheaply than the Council, or provide a better service for the same price. Or you may want to remove or scale down a service and use the savings to do something else.
Local Management Agreements can have other benefits too:
- Keeping it local - enabling residents
to bring their own, on-the-spot awareness to how a job is done,
or use a particular small-scale provider to do it.
- Value for money - helping residents
to see exactly what they're getting in return for their rents
and service charges. Allowing the Council to concentrate its resources
on the things it does best.
- New possibilities - negotiating and running a Local Management Agreement brings people together, and might persuade them to co-operate on other things that benefit the community (for example, social events or local trading and exchange schemes). A successful Local Management Agreement might also act as the springboard for moving to higher levels of resident control in the future (for example, as a Tenant Management Organisation).
Changing services
Local Management Agreements allow residents to completely rethink
what goes on in an estate or area. If you decide you want different
or extra services to those that the Council has provided in the
past, then you can make this happen, subject to:
- Formally consulting with all residents
- Setting up an appropriate unincorporated association to
run things
- Agreeing with the Council how to raise and use the money needed to pay for the changes.
The Council is keen for local people to take control of the services they use, so Local Management Agreements include incentives and rewards, which we negotiate to suit each situation. For example:
- 'Dowries' or set-up costs paid
up-front, to offset the early effort and investment needed for
a Local Management Agreement.
- Bonuses to reward sustained success and
improvement.
- Payment in advance to meet local needs (for
example, the planting season for gardening agreements).
- Annual awards for the Best Innovation and
Most Improved Service.
- Open, flexible negotiation on incentives and how surpluses are used.
- Create long term administrative and service
savings, which can either be used for other services or passed
on as reduced charges.
- Encourage residents to get involved in, or take over,
other parts of the housing service.
- Attract charitable funds to the area (for example, lottery
or trust funds for environmental projects), which can lever in further money
and resources.
- Avoiding time-consuming and costly formal tendering
procedures.
- Working with highly informed clients, who are clear
about their requirements and standards – this helps to drive up and maintain
quality.
- The chance to develop new services and approaches (for
example, using ‘greener’ materials and working practices).
- Positive local and national publicity. The Council has
an annual award for Best Contractor.
- Training to increase local skills and employment.
