The government has unveiled plans to give residents more say over how the £1.5bn working neighbourhoods fund is spent as part of wider efforts to increase community influence on public spending. The proposal was included in a national strategy launched this week alongside 12 participatory budgeting pilots, also known as community kitties. Ministers believe increased public involvement on crucial spending decisions will help overcome political cynicism, as well as helping councils meet their new duty to involve residents. It has yet to be decided how local people will be engaged in setting priorities for spending on worklessness, or whether they will be able to directly control a portion of the funding. Such issues are likely to be clarified in forthcoming guidance. Most of the 12 pilots named this week are being led by councils, but ministers are looking at how the model could be taken on board by other parts of the public sector.

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18 September 2008
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