There is a lot of activity going on in Beverley at the moment so I though I would give you all a quick update.
The biggest issue right now is the proposed devolution deal with the Government which Hull and East Riding have agreed to pursue, creating a new mayoral combined authority, led by a locally elected mayor.
This is not a merger of the two councils, but will allow them to work together to make decisions at a regional level.
If accepted the deal promises a £400m investment fund over 30 years, to drive growth and deliver local priorities such as better housing, better transport, better infrastructure, more investment, more skills and more jobs.
Local authorities have been starved of central government support since the beginning of austerity– grants were cut by 40% in real terms between 2009/10 and 2019/20, from £46.5bn to £28.0bn at 2023/24 prices.
In the lead up to the Autumn Statement, the County Councils Network (CCN) warned that its members were under extreme financial pressure. The authorities they represent were set to overspend by almost £650m this year due to spiralling costs, particularly in children’s social care and home to school transport, which was contributing to a £4billion funding deficit for those authorities over the next three years.
However, with no new core funding announced for councils coupled with an increase in the National Living Wage – which is set to cost those local authorities around £230m next year – 90% of councils said that they were now in a ‘significantly worse’ position. This is because this extra cost burden is on top of significant savings targets councils already had.
In the East Riding we seem to be in a slightly better place financially, with a forecasted overspend £12.7m in the latest budget for 2023-24 - but while we celebrate losing less money than many other authorities we are in effect celebrating further cuts in services!
Against this background I can think of no reason to refuse devolution and the offer of an investment of £400m ( just over £13m a a year for 30 years) from central government.
Get involved
There is a consultation running until the 27th of February which you can reach at https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/council/devolution/
There is a lot of detail on this site and a consultation form to fill in (which takes about 20 minutes) and I would encourage you take a look and share your opinions.
If you can’t get on-line you can go to the library where they have printed forms to fill in - or give me a call on 07774 729096 and I will happily talk you through the process.
Devolution is not going to make the world a better place overnight, but it is an opportunity to begin to unlock the potential of our area for ourselves, our children and our children’s children.
Make sure you have your say and make local government something that works for, you rather than something that is done to you!
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