Agenda item

Philip Clifford introduced the report and highlighted to members the policy and public affairs activity relating to further devolution for members to comment on.

Members made the following comments:

• Discussion before the pandemic was very different on devolution to how it is discussed now. We can learn from how local government has functioned during the pandemic and what that means for devolution.
• Getting a commitment to move away from centralisation from government is very key, as seen in Wales.
• The paper shows that local government has a clear vision, but this will need to be updated after the pandemic.
• Work needs to be done to highlight what local government gets right, to make a better case for devolution.
• Devolution and the relationship with sub national bodies needs to be worked out to understand what functions local government will take on during the devolution journey. Transport still is one of the best-case studies of the reason for greater devolution.
• The role of local government as a voice of accountability needs to be seen through the devolution policy work.
• Authorities have been working together more to get better deals for their regions, and this is how local government can make the case for devolution.
• Local government is seen as patch work on devolution and council leaders will ask for different approaches based on the needs of their communities.
• The local lockdowns during the pandemic show that local government needs to be heard when it comes to regional decisions.

Decision

Members noted the report and agreed the draft principles.

Action

Health devolution to come to a future board as an item.