Rt Hon Hazel Blears MP

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government addressed the summit, describing herself as a "part-time Londoner" with an extensive background in local government work.

Ms Blears congratulated London councils on their improving standards and efforts to improve community engagement across the capital, describing London Council's Be a Councillor campaign as a "fantastic" project which she hoped could be rolled out nationally. She also highlighted some of the key challenges facing local government, particularly high degrees of population migrancy and tackling climate change at a local level.

Ms Blears summarised the aims and aspirations behind the recent white paper on revitalising local authorities. She told the summit she hoped this would encourage bolder leadership at a local level and give local authorities the powers and space needed to deliver services most effectively.

A Q&A session followed, with delegates questioning Ms Blears on support for the voluntary sector and the withdrawal of funding promised under the Working Neighbourhood Plan.

Ms Blears also recognised the problems with population data from the Office for National Statistics that had resulted in a poor funding settlement for London. She said:

"Whilst we can't reopen the settlement now, the government is aware of this issue. We'll work to ensure the next settlement is based on more accurate data from additional sources, such as GP surgery registers and national insurance numbers".

Ms Blears' speech is available below.