John Healey's  appointment as local government minister was a baptism of fire.

Within days, the floods erupted, and he was given the extra portfolio of floods-recovery minister. A fortnight later they happened again. Indeed, when The MJ interviewed him at his DCLG offices on Tuesday morning last week, he had just returned from a Downing Street COBRA meeting and was off to Gloucestershire to see the floods (see The MJ, 26 July).

While the Government has generally been regarded as reacting to the unexpected crisis as best it could, there have been criticisms about funding, including not tapping swiftly into the EU's aid pot.

Mr Healey explains that the Government has 10 weeks to apply for EU aid which, anyway, only applies to damages of over €3bn.

‘We have to assess the costs first, and if we have a basis for a claim, then I want to see us put in a claim.'

He also dismisses claims that new housing, announced in the Green Paper the previous day, is scheduled to be built on flood plains, by pointing out there are already stringent safeguards via the Environment Agency. He adds: ‘Lots of the places flooded for the first time weren't even on flood plains.'
He also makes a point of praising local authorities' reactions. ‘Authorities provided the kind of response communities needed as well as public assurance and leadership. It has been an outstanding example of local government leading the recovery effort.'

But, while floods have given him public profile, his real contribution to the local government brief has been in redefining the Government's attitude to regional economic development policy and, in particular, the enhanced role of councils.

He actually led the Treasury sub-national review when he was financial secretary and signed it off days before the reshuffle which saw him moved to the DCLG. Of all the policies with his name on, this must surely be the most far-reaching and long-term.

Indeed, it is a particular passion of his, having written extensively on the subject, and now he is in a perfect position to implement it.

Asked whether he lobbied for the local government job, he merely replies, carefully: ‘I have had a long-standing interest in local and regional policy.'

His message is that while the review sets out ‘general principles', its proposals can be acted on forthwith even before legislation. In particular, on city and sub-regions and multi-area agreements he believes councils ‘can start opening discussions without delay, adding: ‘Don't wait for the Government.'

The timetable is for new guidance on MAAs to be issued by the end of this year, with the first ones in place by June 2008. They will be expected to be voluntary, should have an ‘economic core', and relate mainly to economic development.

Again, on the transfer of LSC 14-19 funding back to LEAs, while legislation will be needed, the point is, ‘we've given the signal that it will happen.'

However, he believes it unlikely that the transfer will occur in time for the 2008/9 financial year. Mr Healey is regarded as close to Gordon Brown, and the appointment clearly shows the new PM's interest in the local government role in economic development.

If it can help deliver the essential skills and prosperity agenda then it will earn more devolved powers, is the message. To show willing, the review stipulates that RDAs must devolve their £2.3bn budgets to councils and scrap assemblies from 2010.

Mr Healey argues that once the referendums rejected regional government, then the non-elected assemblies were effectively out of a job, since they were set up in 1999 precisely to take on the expected mandate as regional elected bodies.

He adds: ‘They were left with an insufficient role and we took the view we needed to reinforce the scrutiny of RDAs by reinforcing local government's role in holding them to account.'

The other, more controversial item in his in-tray was reorganisation. The MJ's interview was held the day before the final unitaries list was published, so he was tight-lipped on the subject.

But, at the LGA conference three weeks before, he had clearly signalled that he intended sticking to the original timetable and was not intending to suspend the process. The final tally of nine was slightly higher than anticipated by local government's chattering classes.

The question next is, what now happens to those two-tier areas unaffected by new unitaries? Watch out for two-tier pathfinders, seems to be the advice.

Although these have been on the back burner at the DCLG in recent weeks, all five pilots will be used, in his words, to ‘pioneer new ways of working and demonstrate for all councils in remaining two-tier areas how delivering better services and greater efficiency gains can be achieved'. Counties and districts will also be co-signatories in MAAs

This, of course, leads us to the subject of shared services. He says bluntly:

‘Shared services are not moving fast enough, and part of my job is to add extra impetus.' One inevitable spur to this will be a tight CSR which, he admits, will be ‘tough all round', and will require councils to ‘consider shared services and better procurement'.

Extra funding sources may be forthcoming if the Government agrees a supplementary business rate. At present, he says, ‘we are working out options' and he rejects any suggestion that it is being kicked into the long grass.

Biography: John Healey

From 2002-07, Mr Healey worked at the Treasury, first as economic secretary and then, later, as financial secretary. From 2001-2002, he served as parliamentary under secretary for adults skills at the DfES. He was previously PPS to the chancellor.
He has been MP for Wentworth, near Rotherham, since 1997. Mr Healey was born in Wakefield, and educated at Lady Lumley's Comprehensive School, Pickering, and at Peter's School in York, and Christ's College, Cambridge.
He worked in the voluntary sector from 1984 to 1990 with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, and MIND, campaigning to improve rights and services for disabled people.
From 1990 to 1994, Mr Healey worked in communications for Issue Communications, a campaign company, and the MSF Union. He was campaigns director for the TUC from 1994 to 1997.
He has also been a part-time tutor at the Open University's Business School. Mr Healey is married with one child, and lives in his constituency.