Labour’s Plans for Reorganising Local Government and District Councils…

New plans that will see South Hams and all other district councils abolished – have been slammed by an exasperated council chief as confused and wasteful.

Outspoken SHDC leader Julian Brazil told the Totnes Pulse this week that reorganising Devon county and the districts right now was a deranged idea.
“It’s the wrong time – just as councils are supposed to be deciding where we build all these new houses, we won’t know which areas we are in charge of. We need to consolidate rather than start rearranging the deckchairs of local government.”

quite frankly it was gibberish

It was announced this week that two-tier council areas will be abolished under the biggest rejig of local government for fifty years. Every region in England will be covered by new “strategic authorities”, which would be similar to regions that currently have elected regional mayors.

District councils have been in existence since 1896 – a few years after the formation of county councils.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the Government was “taking a step towards relighting the fire in our great regions” and that the proposals would create “an economy and a society that works for everyone”.
“We will bring new efficiency and accountability to local and regional government, and we will truly empower the local champions who understand their area, its identity, its strength and how to harness them,” she added. “There is really no good reason for ministers to sign off cattle grids or new cycle lanes.”

District councils of course do much more than that. Planning, social care, education, highways, waste collection and car parking – all vital services overseen by Devon or district councillors who live and work in their areas.

The reforms will go out for consultation, but Mr Brazil, a Lib Dem, said :”If it’s anything like the NPPF (planning framework) , it will go out for consultation and they will ignore it.” He added: “I read the letter from the minister (about the reforms) and quite frankly it was gibberish. There was absolutely no substance to it.”

The District Councils’ Network, part of the Local Government Association, has alsoreacted with concern. In a press release it states: “DCN welcomes the Government’s ambition to devolve power to local areas across England. But we fear the Government’s proposals for local government reorganisation put too much emphasis on creating large unitary councils with populations above 500,000. It will lead to geographically vast councils that are remote from local communities. All but a handful of existing unitary councils in England are smaller than this. This level of population may be suitable in large cities. But in most places we do not think it is workable, especially in rural communities which risk losing access to services and viable local democracy. The proposed reforms will make it far more difficult to deliver the place-based services that create jobs to drive growth and improve public health to reduce pressure on the NHS.
“DCN is keen to work with the Government and our members to develop local proposals that are ambitious and effective. That means new unitary councils must be small enough to be genuinely local, democratically accountable and focused on delivery. That is the best way to make devolution a success everywhere and deliver on the promise of jobs, homes, growth and better health that is in everyone’s interests. “

NO BALLOT?

Mr Brazil also said he felt it “slightly sinister” that the Government was talking about abolishing elections for district councils in 2025. Devon is due for elections in May. In Parliament, South Devon MO Caroline Voaden (Lib Dem) asked for reassurance that the DCC elections will go ahead. Julian Brazil continued: “They think there are too many councillors in England and think they will save £2 Billion – it’s tosh.
“If we want to save money , then get rid of some MPs. “We could deliver savings if they let us. South Hams’ budget has been slashed by half a million and Devon’s by £10 million.  I am angry because I am so disappointed with this Government, which every step of the way is making people forget about how awful the last Government was!”

CHAIN OF OFFICE

Under the plans, Mayors would be given responsibility for strategic planning – like housing and infrastructure. Devon, Mr Brazil imagines, could be split into three unitary councils – but there is already a deal with Torbay and Devon which was promoted earlier this year by the Conservative Government – so what might happen there? The combined population is 953,000 – way over
the half a million guideline, and Torbay already had an executive style Mayor, but scrapped the post in 2019. It still has a civic mayor.

The deal has yet to be legally ratified but it is on its Parliamentary way…. So it may or may not go ahead.

This is the current ambition, as stated on the torbay.gov.uk website: “The formation of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (CCA), including the creation of a leadership group led by a nominated chair, to provide overall vision and leadership, seek the best value for taxpayer’s money, and be accountable to local residents.
“£16 million of new capital funding in this Spending Review period to support the delivery of local housing priorities, drive Net Zero ambitions, support green skills and accelerate wider low carbon business transition across the Devon and Torbay area. This investment is subject to agreement of the relevant business cases.”

we do not think it is workable

MAYORS RULE

Mayors would be given responsibilities for strategic planning. That means they’d have to come up with plans for building housing and infrastructure. Housing is one of the government’s top priorities, with a pledge to build 1.5m more houses in England before the next election. Local authorities wouldn’t get a say in how many houses they have to build, after areas were given targets (see Pulse article). But they would get a say in how to manage housing growth in their region, helping identify areas for building and making decisions on affordable housing.
They’d also be able to charge developers a levy to help pay for the infrastructure needed to support the increase in homes, such as roads, major junctions and reservoirs. They’d also have a say in freight and logistics. And mayors would be able to intervene in planning applications they see to be strategically important to an area – similar to the government saying they’ll intervene in applications that are strategically important to the whole country.

ANY BENEFITS?

There may be benefits for towns like Totnes, which has historic community assets. The current right to designate an asset would be replaced with a right to BUY. This includes things like sports facilities, historic buildings, pubs, libraries and cafes. Local communities and businesses will also be given powers to rent shops that have been vacant for a long time, helping to revitalise high streets.
But what might happen to South Hams owned assets, like car parks, is unknown. Julian Brazil told the Pulse:” We tried to transfer all our assets – not liabilities like public loos, but our assets – to town councils , but we were told it was illegal. So they will probably end up as part of the new authority.”