Lambeth aims for ‘John Lewis’ style council

Lambeth council has announced proposals to become a "John Lewis" style authority which could reward locals who run services with a council tax discount.

The Labour-run borough's plans for a "co-operative council" could be adopted by Labour at the next general election if successful.

The town hall's mission to get locals involved in running schools, housing and tackling crime are being described as the Left's answer to David Cameron's "Big Society".

More than 100 other Labour councils across the country are expected to follow suit. Lambeth has set up a Citizen's Commission to consult local people on the proposals.

Ministers flagged up Lambeth's plan this year as a response to the "easyCouncil" model developed in Tory-run Barnet, where residents can pay more for services such as extra refuse collections or more flexible home care.

They are also able to give the council extra cash to jump planning permission queues, in the same way that airline passengers can pay extra to check in more quickly.

Lambeth has tested the model over the last four years.

It has more tenant-managed housing estates than any other borough and has transferred assets to community control including Raleigh Hall in Brixton, which will be a National Black Heritage Centre, and an old school sports hall in Vauxhall which has become a community sports hub praised by international sports stars including Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan.

Other projects include The Elmgreen School in West Norwood - the first school in the country to have parents forming its founding body -personalised care budgets, an environmental clean-up programme to turn derelict land into community space and peer mentoring initiatives on tough estates.

Lambeth leader Steve Reed said: "Lambeth has spent the past four years exploring how the community can get more involved in running local services. In widely different service areas like schools, housing and tackling crime we've learnt it can deliver better services that cost less.

"Now we will take the model further and become the first council in the country to apply cooperative values right across the board. Our model empowers people to get on and make the changes they want to see in their local area, building better services and a stronger civic society."