Towards better local regulationPresentation – Rethinking Local Government

Judy Kavanagh, Principal Advisor, NZPC

1 February 2013

Local government is:

“While local government is a creature of statute, it operates as a largely autonomous provider of services, funded separately by property taxation and held accountable by voters. In the absence of well-defined constitutional or fiscal relationships, local and central government are most accurately regarded as two spheres of a system of collective decision-making, each with revenue-collection powers to fund the implementation of its particular policies and programmes…” – (Local Futures Research Project, 2006)

What is local government regulation?

• Regulatory workload driven by central government

• A wide range of regulatory functions (conferred by 30 pieces of primary legislation + secondary instruments)

• Not using the general bylaw-making powers to get into new areas of regulation

Local government regulatory functions

land and resource use

building standards

waste management

health hazards

other regulations

liquor and gambling activity

hazardous substance

storage

food and hygiene

Local government

Local government regulatory activity as a proportion of local government operating expenditure

(Regulatory areas that took up the most staff time and resources in the past 3 years: building & construction consents; planning, land use or water consents)

(Building consents/controls; Resource consents; Environmental health and licensing; & Animal control)

Local government is part of a broader regulatory system with many actors

Policy problem identified

Policy development process

Cabinet review process

Parliamentary process

Implementation monitoring

and enforcement

Judical interpretati

on and review

Post-implementation

review

The performance of the entire system determines how well regulations achieve their objectives

• Outcomes of regulation can be difficult to measure• Regulation will be more successful if:

– there is good design– councils have processes that assist them to allocate

resources where they are expected to generate the largest benefits

– there is the right capability

New purpose statement - Amendments to Local Government Act 2002

Replaces section 10(b) with:“to meet the current and future needs of communities for good-quality local infrastructure, local public services, and performance of regulatory functions in a way that is most cost-effective for households and businesses.”

The Commission’s survey of business

Performing regulatory functions – the potential of cooperation

• Cooperation across multiple local authorities can improve effectiveness

• 89% of councils coordinate/collaborate with other councils on regulatory functions

Forms of coordination, collaboration and transfer of knowledge

Deciding whether or not to cooperate

Early conclusions

• Gaps in the way regulations are made at the central government level, with a lack of implementation analysis

• Evidence to suggest that monitoring and enforcement of local regulations is an issue, and this is undermining the achievement of regulatory objectives

Further lines of inquiry

• When is variation in regulatory practice due to local circumstances, and when is it just ad hoc?

• What are the outcomes of regulations (including but not limited to, economic outcomes)?

• How are regulations being implemented?

Drivers of resource allocation to regulatory functions

Performance measures? Customer service?

Public service ethic?

Formal accountability?

Next steps

• Further engagement• Submissions• Areas for further investigation and analysis

Submissions and discussion forum: www.productivity.govt.nz Follow us on Twitter: @nzprocom

Submissions by 6 March 2013

Final report to government by 1 May 2013