Verbal update by Andrew Campbell (Associate Director, LGA).
Minutes:
Andrew Campbell (Associate Director, LGA) provided a verbal update on the development of a publication on devolution for launch at the LGA’s annual conference in July. He highlighted the main themes - fiscal devolution, new powers, democratic engagement - and invited Members’ views on the financial aspects of devolution to inform the development of the Devolution Green Paper.
In the discussion that followed, Members made a number of comments, including:
· Fiscal devolution was identified as critical to the success of genuine devolution of power from central government to local areas, as opposed to delegation.
· That the LGA continue to challenge Government’s position regarding the elected mayor model.
· Members discussed the scale of devolution and some of the challenges thus far, particularly relating to non-metropolitan areas and concerns regarding the direction of the Government’s devolution agenda. Challenges also included the involvement of multiple Government Departments in negotiations and lack of clarity on the fiscal envelope during negotiations.
· Serious concerns were expressed regarding the pace of the Government’s devolution negotiations and the impact on democratic engagement and participation of local communities.
· With reference to democratic engagement, Member suggested the publication include reference to the mixed picture nationally in terms of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) engagement with local authorities.
Decision
That the Resources Portfolio’s views inform the development of the LGA’s Green Paper on devolution.