LOCAL DEVOLUTION & EMPOWERMENT progress in Cornwall so far One - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

LOCAL DEVOLUTION & EMPOWERMENT progress in Cornwall so far…… One Voice Wales Conference

4 October 2014 Builth Wells

Rob Andrew B.Eng, M.A., C.Eng, MICE, MIHT Assistant Head of Service – Localism and Devolution Cornwall Council

www.cornwall.gov.uk 2

Devolution – Why Bother?

• Gives greater local ‘say’ and ‘ownership’ – local pride!
• Local prioritisation
• Can remove some of the tiers (and sometime tears!!)

that prevents making things happen quickly

• Challenging budget climate putting pressure on

service delivery / standards

• More efficient / effective / economic local delivery
• Develops local SMEs and local skills base and

encourage volunteering

• Strengthens local partnership working / local

resilience / sense of purpose

• Local knowledge of area often translates into a better

solution in an area

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So what has been achieved so far?

• Close to 40 projects completed (small to large scale)
• About 60 under development right now and

increasing daily

• Some services retained that might otherwise not be
• ffered locally e.g. toilets
• Better relationships (hopefully!!) between the Council

and local community

• Progress made in relation to Freehold and Leasehold

debate…

• Changing attitude and culture…
• It’s the only game in town!

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Case Study – Carn Brea Monument

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Case study – Penryn One Stop Shop

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Case study – Tintagel Visitor Centre

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Case study– Bude Sea Pool

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Case study – Municipal buildings, Falmouth

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Case study – St Day clock

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Case Study – Jubilee Pool, Penzance

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Case Study – Portwrinkle

www.cornwall.gov.uk

Devolution Challenges (1 of 2)

• Sometimes there can be conflicting service

priorities – income earning assets for individual services versus wider overall council savings

• Resources to undertake this work – an additional

activity to the their traditional ‘core offer’ Negotiations take time and need continuity

• Capital injections can assist in driving proposals

forward that might otherwise fall.

• Balancing the views of social value v. capital

receipts v. revenue costs

• Trying to reduce operating costs (rates)

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Devolution Challenges (2 of 2)

• Understanding how Parishes work and their

timescales

• Understanding the Voluntary and Community

Sector

• TPC v. VCS rivalry ?
• Precept capping??
• Budget cycle timings
• Public sector re-organisation at the local level –

Cornwall Council, health, police

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Community Rights – Headline figures as at September 2014

• Number of nominations = 107
• Assets listed so far = 82
• Nominations rejected = 16
• Awaiting further information = 6
• Withdrawn by the nominator = 3
• No Listed asset has yet been sold to a local group
• Majority of nominations come from T & PC’s
• 8 pubs nominated and Listed
• 1 Lighthouse!!

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Community Networks and staff

• 19 Community Networks in place since

April 2009 working with the community and partners

• Teams supporting the Networks –
• Community Network Managers
• Community Regeneration Officers
• Neighbourhood Management

Officers

• Localism Support Officers
• Town and Parish Council Officer
• Devolution Service

www.cornwall.gov.uk

Team Roles - Localism

• Community Network Managers: Senior officers with

enabling and facilitating role in each network area working with:

• Cornwall Councillors
• Partners in the Police, Health Service and Voluntary /

Community sector

• Other services officers (e.g. neighbourhood services)
• Local community
• Town and Parish Councils
• Aim to help local communities to:
• Influence decision-making
• Develop the capacity to take on and deliver services and

projects that target local issues

• Ensure that public services reflect local circumstances
• Help devise local solutions to local problems.

CREATING THE LANDSACPE….

www.cornwall.gov.uk

Team Roles - Devolution

Dedicated team comprising:

• Devolution Specialist
• Core - Property, environment, highways etc
• Aligned – Libraries, leisure etc
• Support – Finance, HR, legal etc

Robust Programme Management

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Mind the Gap

• Local councils have differing aspirations and

abilities and don't always agree

• Local councillors have differing aspirations
• Local agendas and county agendas are driven by

different priorities

• Community and local aspirations differ
• Driven by the rise of community empowerment

agenda.

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Supporting the process

• Joint CC / VCS / TPC training programmes
• Help establish local arrangements – CICs etc
• Peer support network
• Encourage local clusters
• Share best practice – locally and countywide
• Model contracts / specifications
• Supporting external funding bids
• Develop transitional support mechanisms

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

The Future?

• Changing role of Town / Parish Councils
• Changing role of Parish Clerk – Parish Manager?
• 4 year business plans?
• Arms length trading opportunities?
• Mergers?
• “One Ifracombe” model

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

In conclusion

• There are competing priorities within Cornwall

Council, with partners and within the community.

• Long term v short term
• Devolution requires willingness, resources, time,

capacity and skills that only some local councils possess

• Confidence can grow incrementally within a

community and lead to larger projects being tackled.

• The devolution process requires dedicated staff

internally and community support externally.

• Each community is different!

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www.cornwall.gov.uk

Thank-you Questions?

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