Community Right to Challenge

The Right to Challenge makes it easier for voluntary and community groups or council employees to bid to run council services.

It provides an opportunity for communities to engage, influence and take responsibility for services which are the most important to their lives working together to build safe, healthy and empowered communities.

The Right to Challenge paves the way for more communities to help shape and run excellent local services. This might include making services more responsive to local needs, offering additional social value outcomes, or delivering better value for money.

It may act as a springboard for radical re-shaping of services, or simply trigger small changes that will make a big difference to the quality of service communities receive.

More information is available on the My Community website.

How the Right to Challenge Works

The following groups, also known as 'relevant bodies', are all eligible to express an interest in bidding to run a particular district council service:

  • a voluntary or community body
  • a body of persons or a trust which is established for charitable purposes only
  • a parish council
  • two or more employees of the relevant authority
  • any other person or body specified by the Secretary of State by regulations

These bodies can work in conjunction with a private sector organisation.

If one of the above named groups have an idea about how a service could be better run or are interested in running a service, an informal discussion on possible alternative approaches that are available to the Community Right to Challenge is recommended to ensure any suggestions put forward have the potential to be a success. To request an informal discussion please email our Communities team.

After these discussions, those wishing to make a formal expression of interest need to complete an Online expression of interest form.

Printable versions of the form are also available to download, complete and return by email to our Communities team.

 

A decision on your expression of interest will be based upon the information that we ask for in this form and in accordance with the provisions of the Localism Act 2011.

We will acknowledge receipt, and within 30 days we will let you know the date by which you will receive a decision on your application. Our decision will be to reject, to ask you to modify, or to accept your expression.

If we accept your expression, then we will invite your organisation to compete in an open procurement exercise.

Department of Communities and Local Government: Community Right to Challenge guidance