07.01.2025
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The government’s “Devolution Revolution” will be put to all members of Kent County Council (KCC) for consideration on Thursday (January 9) morning.
Devolution White Paper
As reported by DHA's Hannah Young, on 16th December the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published the Devolution White Paper.
The White Paper details the Government's Plans to widen and deepen devolution across England, providing Mayors with unprecedented powers and funding. It also outlines how the Government will rebuild and reform local government as the foundation of devolution, reset the relationship between central and local government, and give communities stronger tools to shape the futureof their local areas.
Local Government Reorganisation
As part of the White Paper, the government has announced a programme of local government reorganisation to replace all 'two tier' county and district councils with single tier 'unitary' authorities. It is said that the government sees unitarisation as an opportunity to deliver efficiency savings and improve public services by bringing together ‘lower’ and ‘upper tier’ services in the same organisation.
What does this mean for Kent County Council and their local authorties?
All Members of Kent County Council are due to attend an Extraordinary Meeting on Thursday 9th January at 10.00 a.m. to consider the 'Devolution Revolution'.
*Shutterstock Image
It has been reported that the changes will likely see an elected mayor for the first time with all 14 local authorities in the county replaced by a smaller number of unitary councils. This would represent the biggest and most rapid shake-up in Kent's local governance in 50 years.
According to Kent Live:
"KCC members are being invited to share their views on the devolution priority programme (DPP). The Council’s response must be submitted to Ministers by January 10.
It is understood KCC’s leadership is minded to take the fastest option, thus securing more powers and cash for Kent. This could see a mayor in place by 2026 and elections to the new unitary authorities in around 2027. KCC and the new authorities would run in parallel until KCC ceases to exist'
Devolution Process causing Upset
Collaboration will be key to the success of the move towards devolution. However there is already unrest being reported, with Members of the Green Party set to stage a protest about the devolution process outside County Hall (Maidstone) on Thursday morning. Other Members have accused the Conservatives of using the process as a way of delaying an election in May.
Closing Words
Although the Government hopes that the creation of strategic authorities will streamline local decision-making, this won’t automatically be the case and will of course require lots of work to ensure efficiencies are delivered. DHA Planning will keep a close eye on the outcome of Thursday's Extraordinary Meeting.
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