I’ve had a letter from the Minister. You know, it’s one of those letters singing your praises. The government couldn’t do it without you blah blah blah. I’ll give you a few quotes: ‘Good local government is the foundation of a good state,’ and ‘Your councils do vital work for your communities,’ and so on. So far, so good but then as the saying goes, ‘the devil is in the detail.’

Uncertain Funding

Any new money is welcome but the habit of including extra revenue from council tax increases as if it’s from government is infuriating. Councils are the ones who have to put up council tax and issue the bills to pay for services. Central government just sits back and claims the new funding is from their largess. It’s a bit like claiming individual tax isn’t going up. They know full well that by freezing personal allowances, taxes are increasing in real terms.

We’re not quite sure about the final settlement but it appears we’re losing over £500,000 from the Rural Services Delivery Grant. This may be recouped from other grants but the whole system is so complicated and opaque it’s hard to tell. Again, we’re promised a simpler funding regime which will be welcomed along with a 3-year settlement. It will give us more certainty to plan and invest for the medium term.

Local Government Reorganisation?

Perhaps the most fundamental statement for us is about local government reorganisation. It may well signal the end of Devon’s district councils and Devon County Council. I should say I’m not dogmatically wed to the two-tier, district and county, system of local government. There are obvious examples where economies of scale can make savings but what concerns me is how it might be delivered.

The idea that central government is best placed to mould reorganisation just doesn’t stack up. One might have more confidence if they themselves exhibited efficiency and effectiveness. Examples of failed projects from HS2 to NHS databases; floored outsourcing contracts where taxpayers are taken for a ride and regulation regimes that aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. The litany of failure and waste by central government abounds. Might I suggest they get their own house in order before picking on local government? If we were any where near as useless as their track record, local people would have rejected us years ago.

Tiers of Bureaucracy

They talk about shifting power away from the centre, towards people and communities. Really? They want to move to simpler structures. Are they sure? From what I read we will have a Council of Nations and Regions, the Mayoral Council and the Leaders Council. Presumably they will sit above the newly formed Unitary Councils and then the Town and Parish Councils. If that’s simplifying the system, I’d hate to see what complicating it would be!

At the same time there will be fewer councillors representing more people. Some may say good job too, but this isn’t going to deliver decision making closer to the communities. It certainly isn’t devolution as I understand it. I wonder who has come up with these ideas and new structures. Perhaps, its highly paid but equally unimpressive consultants governments are so fond of. Or perhaps it’s faceless policy wonks based in Whitehall with little or no experience of the real world.

We are told the new government is all about partnership and consultation. Let’s hope were going to see evidence of this. If they really want us to them deliver the fundamental change required, then they better start listening. Otherwise, as far as I’m concerned, they can get stuffed.