Latest news with #EnglishDevolutionWhitePaper
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Crawley and Reigate councils to decide on unitary authority plan
Two councils in West Sussex and Surrey are due to decide on a proposal to form a combined unitary authority as part of the Local Government Reform plans. Crawley Borough Council and Reigate & Banstead Borough Council said the move would "maximise the economic growth" of the proposal argues the creation of a hard boundary between the two authorities, with the potential through devolution of two elected mayors on either side, would be "detrimental" to the government's growth agenda. Labour councillor Michael Jones, leader of Crawley Borough Council, said: "This is a possibly once in a lifetime opportunity to rethink how local government works. "We are duty-bound to consider all possible options within the guidelines set by government to ensure this town and its residents are best served by whatever structures are to follow."Devolution is the government's plan to transfer power from Westminster to regional or local authorities. This was published in the government's English Devolution White Paper last December, outlining reasons including "a change in way of governing" to improve the country's standards of living. Both councils say the potential economic benefits of this move "outweigh any savings that might be made through the formation of a larger unitary".They add the two areas form a "£13bn-plus economy and conjoined by the world's busiest single runway airport in Gatwick"."By submitting this proposal now, we keep this option, and the compelling case regarding our shared economy, alive so that it can be considered alongside the proposals that emerge from our work in West Sussex," added Mr proposal will be considered at a meeting on 7 May at Crawley Borough Council.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wales-England border body Western Gateway loses funding
The organisation behind plans for a tidal lagoon in the Severn Estuary and improved rail connections across south Wales and western England, has lost its UK government Gateway received £1m a year as part of a three-year package announced in 2022, but will now cease to exist in its current form from 6 UK government announced its intention at the budget last autumn to stop funding so-called pan regional partnerships (PRPs) and wants the new system of elected mayors in England to take up their work shadow secretary of state for Wales, Mims Davies, said she was "horrified" by the decision. Western Gateway is a partnership of 28 local authorities stretching from Pembrokeshire to Swindon and had hoped for an exemption from UK government plans, because it is the only PRP to work across the borders of two nations of the a statement, the chair of Western Gateway Sarah Williams-Gardener accused UK ministers of refusing to said: "This is a hugely disappointing decision from the UK government."Despite representation from Welsh government calling for talks on how both governments can work together on this, requests to meet from business and locally elected leaders and MPs, they have refused to engage with any of us from our area on this decision."Last month a commission set up by the partnership published proposals calling on the UK and Welsh governments to build a tidal lagoon in the Severn Estuary to generate electricity. In January they revealed plans for faster trains and 30 new railway stations, with reduced journey times of 30 minutes between Cardiff and Bristol and an hour between Bristol and London. Western Gateway claimed it would add £17bn to the UK economy, but the scheme would depend on significant UK government funding to become organisation said it generated over £2m of in-kind and financial support and brought in £100m of funding for the area to try and develop the first small modular nuclear reactors in the UK. These are cheaper, smaller nuclear power stations which are partly assembled off-site. 'Different model' Western Gateway started back in 2016 as a collaboration between Cardiff, Bristol and Newport and became a UK-government-supported partnership in 2019.A spokesperson for the UK government ministry of housing, communities and local government said: "Our Plan for Change commits to ensuring every nation and region realises its full potential."Pan-Regional Partnerships have made a valuable contribution but as our English Devolution White Paper sets out, we are now moving to a different model of pan-regional collaboration where we are keen to support new models driven by Mayors and their partners."Wales does not have a system of devolution to elected mayors, but the UK government has said it would continue to work with the Welsh government to develop local growth a letter to Labour's Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, the Conservative shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies urged her to get her colleagues to wrote: "I am absolutely horrified to learn your government has pulled the crucial funding on the incredibly important Western Gateway."She added: "It is bitterly disappointing that the fantastic work undertaken by the organisation has been cancelled."Ms Williams-Gardener said the partnership's work showed that the area they covered could become the fastest-growing part of the UK economy outside of Wales has been told that the local authorities were keen to continue working together, but would have to do so without the support provided by Western Welsh government declined to comment.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
County council opposes combined authority plan
Essex County Council has told the government it "cannot support the proposal for devolution in Greater Essex in its current form". The local authority supports a major shake-up and reduction in the number of councils in the area. As part of the plans, a mayor would be elected and a combined authority would be set up to make key decisions on issues including transport and housing. Conservative-run Essex County Council says it should have more voting power on this combined authority, compared with councillors from neighbouring Southend and Thurrock. Under this plan, Essex would have three voting members on the combined authority, whilst Southend and Thurrock would both have two. The Labour leaders of Southend and Thurrock support the proposed setup. The county council argues that it represents 80% of the population of Essex and should have at least 50% of the votes. Essex leader Kevin Bentley told Local Government Minister Jim McMahon it would "ensure fairer representation". He proposed there should be two voting members from Essex, and one each from Southend and Thurrock, with the mayor potentially having the deciding vote. Daniel Cowan, Labour leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, told the BBC: "Southend has been clear we wouldn't accept anything other than what has been proposed. "We think it is fair and balanced and it sets us up in the right way for local government reform." The existing council structure in Essex is set for radical change with plans for the current 15 councils to become between three and five all-purpose unitary authorities. A timetable for reforming local government in Essex has been set out: Elections for a Greater Essex mayor on 7 May 2026 Elections for the new-look Essex councils in May 2027 The new councils would replace the existing ones in 2028 The mayor would be directly elected, which means the population will choose their preferred candidate. John Kent, Labour leader of Thurrock Council, said devolution "gives us the opportunity to grow the Essex economy and we cannot afford little wrangles like the niceties of voting numbers to scupper that". Cowan added: "We have all worked together collegiately to get to this point so far. "It's now disappointing that the county council doesn't believe we can continue in that vein." Members of the public and institutions can comment on the devolution proposals until this Sunday. The government in Westminster will have the final say. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Essex leaders want cut-down model of five councils Council shake-up sees elections delayed in nine areas Could three Essex councils become one? Essex County Council English Devolution White Paper
BBC News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Worcestershire MP backs proposal to cut county in two
A Worcestershire MP has backed a proposal to split the county in two to form northern and southern council run Labour MP, Chris Bloore, said a new North Worcestershire authority – made up of Redditch, Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest district councils - would best fit the government's devolution Worcestershire's political leaders appear deadlocked over which option is a separate proposal, Worcestershire County Council has argued replacing the county's seven existing authorities with a single one could save more than £20m a year. "For towns like Redditch… I don't think we should be going straight to a Worcestershire-wide solution," said Bloore."We're at a time where, if we're honest, Worcestershire County Council is going through a very difficult time. Its delivery of services in certain areas, like children's services, hasn't been the best."And I think we've already seen in Redditch and Bromsgrove that those councils have worked well in shared partnership and delivery of services. So, I'm pretty confident that we could do it again," he current population figures, a North Worcestershire authority would be home to just under 288,000 criteria set in Labour's English Devolution White Paper stipulate that new unitary councils must serve at least 500,000 people, Bloore said he believed the government would show flexibility. At the moment, Worcestershire's political leaders appear deadlocked over which option is Worcestershire County Council and Wyre Forest District Council have argued a single unitary authority is the only option to meet the government's criteria, both Worcester City Council and Malvern Hills District Council have said they would prefer the county be split in other districts, Bromsgrove, Redditch and Wychavon, said both options needed further exploration."One Worcestershire council would be more effective and efficient," said Simon Geraghty, the Conservative leader of the county council, at a scrutiny meeting on Tuesday. Life on a new border A new border would follow existing district council boundaries, cutting right through the village of Astwood Bank, where residents currently live under different district councils – either Redditch or Wychavon – with different rates of council tax and different bin in future, the creation of two new unitary councils could see neighbours receiving different provision for services, such as roads, public transport, social care and libraries."We want the best bang for our buck," said Roy Stanley, who currently lives on the Wychavon side of the said he favoured a single council."At the end of the day we just want decent services for the amount of money that we pay out. I think that's the main thing," he said. "Actually making an area bigger in terms of local government doesn't always necessarily make it better," said resident Karen Arnold, who said she preferred the idea of splitting the county in two."There's a huge variety in population… and what populations need in this area."And I think if you've got a very large area to cover, it gets very difficult to tailor services to what the actual population needs," she Astwood Bank just a few minutes' drive from the neighbouring county of Warwickshire, resident Katie Taylor-Jones said county boundaries had made local public transport less joined up."We're ten minutes' drive away… we can't get buses very easily between those places. It doesn't encourage us to be able to use public transport," she said."If they kind of stop on a particular road and say, well, that's as far as we're going, because here's the boundary, that makes it complex, I think."While councillors in Worcestershire have until November to submit a business case for proposals to the government, any negotiations are likely to be interrupted by county council elections on 1 May. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Districts warn that ‘mega councils' may limit growth and public trust
The Government's aim to create new 'mega councils' has been dismissed by a report as an unnecessary, disruptive move driven by 'basic number crunching' that will perpetuate failing models of service delivery. The analysis found benefits to the public purse from growing local economies, building housing, preventing future needs and reversing a 'catastrophic loss of trust in institutions' far outweigh any short-term savings from consolidating existing council functions. It calls on the Government to explain how its objectives will be delivered and what is required in terms of 'geography, operating model, design, leadership, capability to fit with new or existing structures of partnerships'. The report, commissioned by the District Councils' Network (DCN), adds that realisation of the Government's aims 'demands a place and people-based approach to the design of future organisations'. It said: 'It is in places that true change happens, be it in a region or a neighbourhood or a village'. 'All of these are key dimensions in the renewal of public services and, consequently, the renewal of the nation.' The report added: 'The greatest risk is losing momentum and settling for change that isn't change. Instead, (local government reform) must focus on a meaningful renewal and reform – driving economic growth, improving public wellbeing, and restoring faith in the local state.' The English Devolution White Paper, published in December, required the 164 English district councils to merge with county councils to create large unitary authorities with populations in excess of half a million people. A timetable was imposed, with a deadline for interim proposals set for March 21. The Government's aim is to have the new councils, which would serve about 20 million people, up and running by 2028. The report, by Inner Circle Consulting, calls for flexibility over the 500,000 minimum population size so that the Government looks 'beyond the lure of theoretical cash savings set out by those arguing that fewer councils means greater savings'. The urgency required contributes to 'a lack of bandwidth in local government to develop ambitious proposals', it adds. This means often 'the outcome could be driven by risk aversion rather than innovation, and a mistaken conclusion that it would be simplest just to consolidate things as they are into the most basic model of something new'. The report said conversations with many public service leaders revealed that 'without exception' they are finding the current stage of local government reform 'personally and professionally challenging'. It adds: 'While many are trying to remain hopeful, they remain deeply concerned that there is insufficient time and safe, reflective spaces to work out what could and should happen next. 'As one serving chief executive put it: 'the idea that we can politely organise ourselves around this and figure it out together fails to recognise the power dynamics that are in play'.' Responding to the report, DCN chairman Sam Chapman-Allen said local government needs 'to raise our game beyond merely consolidating existing structures to radically rethinking them so that they meet the needs of our communities'. He added: 'It's going to take more than mere mergers to bring about growth, end the crisis of trust in local institutions and to move the focus of services from reactive to preventative. 'To reorganise without determining how we transform is likely thwart central and local government's shared aim of promoting growth, jobs, housing and prevention.' Mr Chapman-Allen said claims that 'mega councils' will deliver savings are 'largely theoretical', and called on the Government to rethink requirements. 'The danger is that so many places – but small cities and rural areas – are likely to be held back if subsumed into a far wider area,' he added. But there is disagreement in local government about the way best forward. Recent analysis for the County Council's Network backed proposals for the creation of new unitary councils in England, arguing that new authorities must cover areas of 'at least' 500,000 people or more in order to save billions of pounds and free up investment in local services. The CCN report found that replacing the two-tier system with new councils with minimum populations of 500,000 or more could save at least £1.8 billion over five years. It also argued that those savings reduce dramatically if county and district authorities are replaced with multiple smaller councils, potentially costing local taxpayers hundreds of millions. Commenting on the report, CCN chair Tim Oliver said: 'It is absolutely essential that the Government now stick to the statutory criteria they have set out, treating the 500,000 as a minimum not an optimum population scale. 'This will ensure we create new councils with the scale and capacity to deliver substantial savings to be reinvested in frontline services to the benefit of local taxpayers.' A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: 'This Government inherited a crumbling local government sector which we are now focused on rebuilding. This means taking tough choices to make local government more sustainable and give taxpayers the services they deserve. 'Reorganisation will be crucial to creating a more accountable system which will streamline the delivery of local services, and give councils the power and resources they need to deliver for local residents.'
