Labour believes in delivering social justice to all wherever they live. That means that we insist on high standards in key service areas and that we fund local authorities fairly to help deliver them. But we are also clear that the best way to govern and to deliver excellent services is in most cases through handing power to local communities.
We want to see power spread through our society. Wherever possible, we will pass influence, power and control from the centre to local communities, to councils and frontline staff, to local institutions and groups.
Labour councillors across the country work hard to deliver the highest quality services, while ensuring that local taxpayers get value for money. On average, those who live in areas where the unitary or county council is run by Labour pay lower council tax than those who live under Tory or Lib Dem councils.
We believe that everyone should have access to a decent home, at an affordable price, in the area where they want to live. We have made real progress since 1997 in tackling Britain's housing challenges. There are over a million more homeowners; we have delivered major improvements in social housing conditions; and we have taken action to cut homelessness by two thirds.
During these difficult economic times, we are committed to doing everything possible to provide support for homeowners facing difficulties and to promote the long term stability of the housing market. We are providing extra mortgage protection to help families stay in their homes and to prevent repossessions. We have worked with banks to introduce new rules so that repossession is always a last resort and we have introduced mortgage schemes which provide extra protection to help families if they suffer a temporary fall in income. Meanwhile, we have put in place new arrangements to make it easier for councils and housing associations to deliver a new generation of affordable housing, while working to support the house building industry.
Labour is developing a modern, efficient, sustainable transport network in Britain, which balances the needs of the economy, the environment and individuals. This is backed by long-term planning, sustained long-term funding and improved transport management.
Building on record passenger growth and infrastructure investment delivered by Labour and to further enhance rail capacity, we will provide £15 billion in support to the railways between 2009 and 2014. We are giving councils more powers to ensure that local transport meets the needs of local people, ensuring quality bus services and tackling congestion. And, since April 2008, 11 million older and eligible disabled people have been entitled to free off-peak bus travel anywhere in England.