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
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 2 www.cornwall.gov.uk
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 offered 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! 3 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case Study – Carn Brea Monument 4 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case study – Penryn One Stop Shop 5 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case study – Tintagel Visitor Centre 6 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case study – Bude Sea Pool 7 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case study – Municipal buildings, Falmouth 8 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case study – St Day clock 9 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case Study – Jubilee Pool, Penzance 10 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case Study – Portwrinkle 11 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) 12 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 13 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!! 14 www.cornwall.gov.uk
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 15 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 17 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. 18 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 19 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 20 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! 21 www.cornwall.gov.uk
Thank-you Questions? 22 www.cornwall.gov.uk
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