Devolution

The East of England branch held an excellent devolution session on Friday 15 July. We provided updates and sought comments via twitter. Subsequently, we promoted the devolution discussion section on the members’ forum and I would urge colleagues to contribute. Many thanks for the posts to date. Keep them coming in. It is clear that this is just the beginning of the debate. We need to be live to reforms to the public sector for the foreseeable future.

It was clear from the session that ADSO members require the board to work with colleagues such as the LGA, LGIU, LLG and SOLACE to lobby Government on the devolution arrangements. Whilst local government is generally keen to have devolved powers, I believe the current proposals, which include a clear push for directly elected mayors, dilutes the very freedoms they are supposed to be providing. In addition, they appear to ignore existing structures and have strained relations by opening up arguments between districts and unitary authorities.

Whilst flexibility in delivery is helpful, we need to be careful that we do not create a scramble to the bottom by wasting resources in creating unwarranted tiers of bureaucracy. This is compounded by ongoing reforms in other parts of the public sector, such as health. We need to ensure our elected councillors are not set up to fail. Councillors from all political parties have expressed their concerns. They have a clear mandate and should be listened to. I think we should be urging Government to work with us and other partner agencies to ensure the devolution arrangements are fit for purpose and robust, and that they are clear as to what they intend to achieve. Getting them right is crucial as they will have an impact on other parts other of the public sector, but above all, our citizens.

These are the views I will be sharing with our fellow board members so I am keen to know what you think? Get in touch!

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