The government has pledged to put the ‘big society' at the centre of public sector reform. The proposals include: giving communities more powers; encouraging people to take an active role in their communities; transferring power from central to local government; supporting co-ops, mutuals, charities and social enterprises; and publishing government data.

Plans have been drawn up by Business Secretary, Vince Cable and Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles to give councils and business an opportunity to support the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) to replace Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). A White Paper this Summer will set out the details of the government's plans. This briefing note sets out the Centre for Cities' suggested six-step plan for how the new Government should establish LEPs.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has formally launched the government fund, worth £1 billion, which will be available for "private bodies and public-private partnerships" from 2011 until 2013. It is expected that bidders will need to demonstrate how they will attract further investment to their proposals.

In what's being hailed as a 'revolution in transparency', local authorities are being urged to publish details of all spending over £500. The Public Sector Transparency Board has been set up to drive an open data agenda on a council-by-council basis from January 2011.