Council Leaders seek conversation with government to unlock growth and opportunity

Council Leaders across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have written to the Government to begin a conversation about devolution and how it could benefit the area.

The Staffordshire Leaders Board - ten council Leaders representing the county council, city council and eight district and borough councils - have set out their commitment to explore how a transfer of powers and investment from Whitehall could boost the local economy and living standards.

This could include wide-ranging new powers around issues such as economic development and skills, housing, transport, energy and the environment, regeneration and planning.

Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Chair of Staffordshire Leaders Board, Councillor Alan White, said: “Councils across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are a united force, working together to unlock the economic potential of the area.

“This is about creating more jobs and opportunities, better transport, breathing new life into our cities, towns and villages and ensuring good homes are available for people who need them.

“As a Board, we’ve been working together for the benefit of our residents and businesses for years and a conversation with Government around the opportunities that devolution may bring is an extension to this commitment.”

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent’s Council Leaders have welcomed the Government’s flexibility on the governance arrangements for devolved powers, setting out that a deal with an elected mayor would not be suitable for the area.

Democratically elected representatives at county, city and district or borough level are already in place and the addition of an elected mayor is unlikely to add any additional value for local residents and communities.

Leaders have also been clear that devolution in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent should not be about local government reorganisation and that the county, city, district and borough councils should remain.

Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Vice-Chair of the Staffordshire Leaders Board, Councillor Jane Ashworth said: “We are clear that if devolution is to work across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, it must be flexible enough to recognise and meet local needs.

“We want to see sustainable growth which makes a real difference to people in our cities, in our towns and in our villages.

“There is more detail to come from Government around the new devolution framework and what this means in practice, but we are ready to work with them to explore how devolution could bring extra powers and investment to support our ambitions”.

Staffordshire’s Leaders will now need to wait for guidance on the Government’s new devolution framework to come to a decision on a preferred model of devolution.

An English Devolution Bill, which aims to give local government greater powers over local growth through a standardised devolution framework set out in law, was unveiled in the King’s Speech in July.

 

FAQs

What is devolution?

In England, devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government.

 

Why are we having a conversation with government about devolution?

Devolution is important because it can help to ensure that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect.

Extra powers often come with extra money to make change happen.

The current government wants to give more devolved powers to help to grow the economy and improve living standards. They have asked for councils to let them know if they want to explore these opportunities.

 

What will devolution mean for people across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent?

In Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent there are ten councils – the county council, city council and eight district and borough councils.

The Leaders of all these councils are part of the Staffordshire Leaders Board.

Together with their Chief Executives and the teams working behind the scenes, they have started to explore how this devolution agreement with the government could benefit people who live and work here.

This could include wide-ranging new local powers around issues such as economic development and skills, housing, transport, the environment, regeneration and planning.

It’s about creating more jobs and opportunities, better transport, breathing new life into our cities, towns and villages and ensuring good homes are available for people who need them.

 

What does devolution mean for our council?

We don’t really know what this will mean in detail at this stage.

There is a lot more detail to come from Government around the new devolution framework and what this means for us in practice, but we’re ready to work with them to explore how it could support our ambitions.

It’s important to say though, that in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, devolution is not about local government reorganisation – we want to keep our county council, city council and district and borough councils.

 

Does devolution mean we’ll have a new mayor?

Leaders across all ten councils in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent agree that whilst there are benefits to elected mayors for some areas, that this wouldn’t work for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent. 

We already have democratically elected representatives at the different levels of local government in the area and believe that adding an elected mayor could lead to confusion and lack of clarity of responsibilities rather than any additional value for our residents and communities

 

What happens next when it comes to devolution?

There is a lot more detail to come from Government around a new devolution framework and what this means for us in practice.

We’re expecting them to publish a White Paper on it, and at some point, the English Devolution Bill will go through Parliament so that the extra powers for local areas are set out in law.

For now, we’ve committed to start the conversation with Government about how devolution might benefit Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, and we’ll keep you up to date on any developments.