Consultation on options for local government in Hampshire Parish - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Consultation on options for local government in Hampshire

Parish and Town Councils Briefing 25 June 2016

Overview of presentation

• Devolution and reorganisation – journey

so far

• The Deloitte Commission – why and what
• Proposed consultation
• Next steps
• Your views

Unitary Authorities

• Full range of local government functions

– e.g. combines waste collection (district function) and disposal (county) – Around Hampshire: Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Southampton

• Can be achieved by ‘reorganisation’ of county and district councils

into single unitary council

– e.g. Cornwall, Wiltshire, Shropshire, Durham, Northumberland (2009)

• Potential to operate more efficiently
• Wide range of performance
• Optimum size?

– “300,000 to 700,000” Government policy myth – Greater importance of leadership and capacity

Combined Authorities

• Required for devolution of powers from Government
• Separate and additional legal authority
• Bring together councils to pool capability and receive

new devolved powers

• New Government insistence on directly elected

Mayors

• Councils continue to operate autonomously – initially
• Council’s highways and transport powers are

transferred to the Mayor

• Other powers can and will be transferred in time

Combined Authority proposals in Hampshire

• Hampshire and Isle of Wight combined authority bid

(September 2015) now in abeyance following February vote against directly-elected Mayor

• Solent bid – filled a vacuum - (March 2016) awaiting

Government confirmation

• Heart of Hampshire bid more recently developed
• Neither has been subject to any consultation
• Potential to split the county – hence our dilemma

Proposed Solent/ Heart of Hampshire combined authorities

(incl directly-elected Mayors)

The County Council’s dilemma

• Support and join Solent and Heart of Hampshire to

secure deals and short-term partnership?

– By doing so agree two Mayors – And validate the split of the county – now and in future

• Or refuse to join, be seen to scupper deals and invite

hostility and a legislative reaction?

• “Where is HCC’s positive response?”

National reorganisation debate

• Two-tier system (and smaller unitaries) perceived as

increasingly unsustainable

• Government explicitly conflating devolution with

reorganisation in response

• Amendments to 2016 Act allowing fast-track

reorganisation

• Tensions released across England eg Oxfordshire
• County Council studies on case for county unitary

– Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Cumbria and Buckinghamshire – Dorset close to reaching a unitary solution

Hampshire context

• HCC has staunchly defended two-tier system
• ‘Greater Portsmouth’ letter to Secretary of

State, signed by four districts, put unitary reorganisation firmly on the agenda

• Other councils known to be analysing options
• HCC has a duty to consider how

circumstances have changed

• Deloitte commission – our “positive response”

Deloitte commission

• Evidence-based analysis of financial and non-

financial benefits

• Wide range of options studied – as suggested by

CLG

• To provide a robust platform for County Council’s

deliberations

Option A: HIOW Unitary

Option B: County and Cities

Option C: County and Island

Option D: County Unitary

Option E: Two Unitaries

Option F: Four Unitaries

Option G: Five Unitaries

Deloitte’s conclusions

• Higher savings with larger options (A to D)
• Higher disruption with smaller options (E to G)
• All best options avoid splitting the county (partly because
• f the costs and risks of service disaggregation)
• Best-performing option across both financial and non-

financial assessments are Option B (County and Cities) and D (County Unitary)

– Both offer council tax cut for vast majority (80-90%) – B saves £453m over 10 years but is highly disruptive – D saves £390m, costs least to deliver and is least disruptive – On savings per head D outperforms B (£29 vs £25 a year)

• Best option for Hampshire residents: D (County Unitary)

‘Hampshire Council’: Key facts

• Creates immediate council tax cut for most households in

Hampshire

• Net savings of £41m a year to public purse – permanently
• One-off costs are less than any other option (£180m as opposed to

£400m+)

• Saves more per household than any other option
• Causes less disruption than any other option – only the county area

is affected, with minimal impact on critical upper-tier services such as child protection and highways maintenance

• £10m a year saved on senior management
• £4m a year on councillor expenses and allowances
• Option to create Solent/Heart of Hampshire councils (Option E)

saves less than any other

Is ‘Hampshire Council’ too large?

• A unitary ‘Hampshire Council’ would serve 1.3m

people living across 1500 square miles

• Hampshire County Council already serves 1.3m

people living across 1500 square miles

• Performance and capacity are amongst the highest in

England

• Adding district services and budgets is a modest step

– a unitary Hampshire Council would only have about 20% more capacity than HCC

County Council spend £0.76bn Districts Spend £0.18bn

Districts

Number of Councillors and Total Budgets Across County & Districts

Districts (19%) Hampshire County Council (81%) Districts HCC

District Councillors 488 County Councillors 78

Opportunities for Parish and Town Councils

• A single unitary offers great strategic benefits – but is

definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ solution

• Opportunity to radically improve local democracy,

empower local communities

• Chance to extend parish & town councils across whole
• f unitary area
• Significant powers and budgets would be passed to local

area committees of unitary councillors

• Offer of deeper devolution through ‘parish or town deals’

where parishes want to take up the offer Unitary local government is simpler - parish and town councils work directly with a single unitary council

Possible future split of functions?

Implications of ‘Hampshire Council’

• Would have to be agreed by Secretary of State
• Results in abolition of County Council and district

councils

• New ‘Hampshire Council’ inherits assets, contracts,

staff etc

• In theory ‘Hampshire Council’ could be established by

2018, but likely to be over a longer timescale

• Build on established county-level strengths and
• pportunities – most obviously waste
• Allows still potentially for a HIOW combined authority

Announcement on 13th May

• Cllr Perry announced a consultation on the future of

local government in Hampshire, covering:

– Elected mayors – Combined authorities – Unitary council(s)

• “Hampshire County Council will not endorse the

Solent/Heart of Hampshire proposals unless/until residents say so through the consultation”

• Cllr Perry wrote to inform MPs, Leaders and others
• Deloitte study published simultaneously
• Subsequently agreed at Cabinet on 6th June

Proposed consultation

• Will cover combined authorities, mayors and unitary

council(s) in one go

• The consultation paper will not promote a preferred
• ption
• Done in partnership if possible
• Available online, in libraries etc
• Duration sufficient for town and parish councils to

respond

We will be consulting…

• Hampshire Association of Local Councils
• Individual Town and Parish Councils
• County Councillors
• District and Unitary Leaders and Councillors
• Members of Parliament
• LEP Chairs
• Local businesses
• National Park Authorities
• Police
• Fire
• County Council Network
• Ministers
• University Vice Chancellors
• Health
• And ….

• The residents of Hampshire

Next steps

• Consultation with Hampshire residents over summer/

autumn – Have your say!

• Parish and town council briefings
• County Councillors and officers available to attend

meetings

• Maintain open dialogue with Government and partners
• County Council decision in the autumn following the end
• f consultation
• Recommendation sent to Government
• Secretary of State to finally decide

Summary

• HCC does not seek reorganisation – it has been forced by the

actions of others, including Government.

• Combined Authorities are a form of reorganisation with an

inevitable conclusion that dismantles the County Council.

• HCC must and will think and act for the whole of the county.
• HCC is not wedded to itself or its history. It is profoundly

concerned to sustain some of the best local authority essential services in the country – evidentially so.

• HCC would rather abolish itself in order to achieve the right

solution than sleep walk towards the wrong one.

• HCC is also determined to listen first and decide later – not the
• ther way around.

Questions