THE government's localism agenda is having little impact on the ground, suggests a report.

Local groups are leading inspirational projects – but without using new rights, says the study by the Yorkshire and Humber Rural Network.

The network's main purpose is to strengthen communication and collaboration to support an informed and influential rural voluntary and community sector in the Yorkshire and Humber regioon.

Its latest report, called On the Ground the Localism Act in Practice, was published on Monday (18 March).

The study is one of the first independent analyses of how the government's new rights for communities, which were introduced last year, are being used on the ground.

The Yorkshire and Humber Rural Network spoke to local authorities in the and followed the experiences of six community organisations over a year.

It concludes that localism policy potentially favours better-off areas, rather than those worse-off.

Community groups studied tended to believe that good relationships and negotiation with local authorities were more productive than using the new rights.

Furthermore, many of the groups felt that entirely volunteer-led organisations were unlikely to have the amount of time and expertise needed to navigate a project through the processes involved.

The report found that this made it more difficult for disadvantaged communities to use the rights, leading to a potentially patchy take-up across the country.

The study recommends that local authorities communicate the new rights more effectively to their residents.

Local authorities should work effectively alongside community groups wanting to develop new projects, it says.

At the same time, central government should understand that the localism agenda is potentially unsustainable in the long-term due to its resource-intensive nature, the study recommends.

Government ministers and civil servants should realise that the ability of local communities to benefit from the rights will vary across the country, it says.

Third-sector support organisations should understand the localism agenda so they can support and signpost voluntary and community groups interested in the rights, it adds.

The full document can be downloaded here.