I have just returned from a wonderful time spent with my grandchildren seeing different places on a cruise of the Mediterranean Sea stopping off in Venice, Rome, Corfu and Monte Carlo. The weather was glorious and it was so good to have a break and some space to reflect and think about what’s coming up.
Like me, you may have been hearing a lot about the “devolution debate” as David Cameron announced an historic deal that would give Cornwall greater control over areas of public spending that are currently controlled by central government. This recent announcement follows weeks of talk about more devolution for Manchester with the aim of creating a “Northern Powerhouse”. But what does this really mean and who benefits?
In my last blog I mentioned that I had attended the Local Government Association’s annual conference where the theme was all about devolution and the key focus was on how local councils will need to move towards being self-sustaining in the future; particularly given the continuing reduction in government grant funding.
This is a big ask, but one that we had expected. We all know that we have to look at new and different ways to meet the service and community demands that we face in the future and, we also know that to really address this we will need more power and decision making shifted from Westminster to us as the local authority. After all we are the ones who know our local communities, our demography and our economy. We are best placed to help Wiltshire realise its potential and make the decisions with our communities on what’s needed.
The government knows that by combining authorities efficiencies and improvements can be gained. We’re already ahead of the game on this one - having combined five authorities into one. So for us, in Wiltshire, combined means how we can continue to work with our public sector partners; the police, fire and health to deliver better services and save money through sharing resources and premises.
But the driver for devolution isn’t just about money – I genuinely believe that it will also allow us to improve how we work together and the difference we can make to our local communities and the quality of life for people living in Wiltshire.
Devolved powers will allow us greater freedom to work in a more integrated, economically resilient and efficient way. Take the community campuses; Corsham which is almost fully open (and I’m looking forward to the community open day tomorrow; Saturday 8 August) is already a place where we are working with public sector partners to provide improved services and where we are now able to start to tackle real issues such as loneliness, isolation, dementia, mental health, and lifestyle-oriented health and activity improvements. This is all part of the prevention work that needs to be done if we are to manage the challenge of our changing and increasing older population and the challenge of the health and wellbeing of all ages in the local community. The more healthy and well people are the less pressure there is placed on public services; both now and in the future.
Devolution of powers will help us to drive forward the improvements we want to make for our communities; the ones we know are needed. There clearly won’t be a one-size fits all model. What works in Manchester or Cornwall, won’t necessarily work for us in Wiltshire. So our focus, as always, will be to do what’s best for the people of Wiltshire.
Whatever shape the future takes, there will be some really interesting debates coming up and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that we will face.
If you are having a well-deserved break over the next few weeks, please do enjoy it and as always, my thanks go to all of you for your hard work and dedication to making Wiltshire the great place that it is.
