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Local Government

Since the 1970s, the SDLP has led the way by initiating power-sharing arrangements at Council level. Following the Good Friday Agreement, this partnership approach is now reflected in the voting arrangements for the Assembly.

We continue our work to build new and stronger partnerships in local communities, giving effective representation and comprehensive constituency advice service.

SDLP Councillors are working to create jobs, improve services, create cleaner, greener living and working spaces and secure better facilities especially for areas of social and economic need. They have also built all-island partnerships through establishing cross-border relations with neighbouring Councils.

A number of SDLP-driven Councils rotate top posts to ensure a degree of cross-community representation even where it is not required on the basis of proportional representation. We believe that this sends an important message to the community that its Council representatives can work in partnership and that minority views are respected and embraced.

We believe that the ongoing Review of Public Administration should be used to make government more responsive, accountable, decentralised from Belfast and that there should be a fairer rates system based on an ability to pay.

Our representatives will continue to ensure that the local government model in place from 2011 will achieve effective local representation, value for money, equality of opportunity and quality of services for ratepayers.

We are working so that the Review of Public Administration:

  • Secures legal requirements for power-sharing, ensuring cross-community protection in representation and decision-making.
  • Increases local input into the delivery of public services.
  • Creates a fair rates system based on ability to pay, and protecting those on lower incomes such as pensioners.
  • Spends less on government bureaucracy, more on frontline public services, roads, nurses, school books, etc.
  • Legislates to require decentralisation of government functions and agencies including at least 2000 jobs to towns across the North within 5 years, including (but not exclusively) Derry, Strabane, Omagh, Newry and Downpatrick, targeting areas of high unemployment in the systematic promotion of balanced regional development.

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