Local strategic partnerships can't afford to ignore benefits of sustainable development

A new report argues that policy framework and long term benefits to communities make sustainable approach vital for forward-thinking LSPs.

The report, published by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), suggests that the new performance framework governing local authorities and their partners on local strategic partnerships (LSPs) reinforces the responsibility to deliver sustainable development to the point where it cannot be ignored.

It also highlights the potential and actual benefits gained by those local authorities and LSPs which are already adopting a sustainable development approach. These include saving money, improving the local economy, improved partnership working and more joined-up service delivery.

Local Decision Making and Sustainable Development argues that the different elements of the policy framework for local areas combine to create an overwhelming imperative for local authorities and LSPs to get to grips with sustainable development. These include Sustainable Community Strategies, required to be genuinely sustainable, with Local Area Agreement’s (LAAs) as their delivery plans; Plans for sustainable development to be ‘integral’ to the forthcoming Comprehensive Area Assessment; A set of existing responsibilities for sustainable development to be at the heart of the local planning framework; Enabling powers such as the power of wellbeing and the Sustainable Communities Act.

The combined impact and reach of the bodies represented on LSPs - spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors - means that LSPs have enormous potential to contribute to sustainable development.

The report highlights the work that many LSPs are already doing, including Birmingham LSP, which has signed up to a Sustainable Procurement Compact to ensure that the combined spending power of the LSP partners - estimated at £6bn - is used to support local businesses and communities.

The report is the result of a year-long project involving a range of national, regional and local bodies looking at the steps needed for sustainable development to be embedded in local decision-making, focusing in particular on LSPs, Sustainable Community Strategies and LAAs. It sits alongside a collection of 11 good practice case studies to provide a practical resource for local authorities looking to make decisions which will benefit their communities in the long term.