Meeting documents

To consider a report by the Chief Executive.

The Council considered a report by the Chief Executive to inform members on the progress of the exploration of options for the future of Local Government in Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole.

The Chief Executive introduced the report and summarised the progress in relation to potential local government reorganisation following consideration at Council meetings held in March, April and July 2016.  An update on the work of the Shaping Dorset’s Future Group and the detail of the timetable leading to a county wide decision making period in January 2017 were also provided.  It was reported that the evidence to inform the decision making process would be shared with all members on 5 December and agendas would be published on 23 December 2016 for the People and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 11 January and Council meeting on 26 January 2017.

In relation to earlier consideration of the election arrangements for 2017, the Chief Executive confirmed that the election must be held as planned on 4 May 2017.  Guidance had been given from the Secretary of State, the Department for Communities and Local Government and separate specialist legal advice had been sought as there was no reason to justify making an application.  Due to the timetable for Local Government Reorganisation, no decision would be made and could not be made before January 2017.  Any application to delay the election made in November 2016 would be considered as predetermination.

Members were shown a video to provide information in relation to the response rates of the consultation.  This did not include the results of the consultation.

One public statement was received at the meeting under minute 84 in accordance with Standing Order 21(2) from Mr Lester Taylor, a Dorset resident and member of the UK Independence Party.  The statement is attached to these minutes as an annexure.

Members discussed in detail the approach towards decision making in January 2017 which would include consideration by the Leaders of all nine Councils to explore whether agreement could be reached on a proposal to be presented to all councils.  Some concerns were raised in relation to the arrangement and how the process would work if agreement could not be achieved.  The Chief Executive explained that the ambition was to achieve unanimous agreement on a proposal but this was not a requirement and that a consensus would be sufficient. The Chief Executive reminded members that although Leaders would make recommendations the decision making would be the responsibility of each of the individual sovereign authorities. Contrary to local views expressed outside of the meeting the Chief Executive also confirmed that the law allowed for a case for change to be submitted to the Secretary of State without unanimous agreement of the nine principal local authorities..

In relation to concerns raised in respect of whether a directly elected mayor would be imposed on any new council(s), it was clarified that this was a consideration in relation to any proposed devolution of enhanced powers to local government. It was not though a consideration in terms of the future of local government structures in Dorset which councils had recently consulted upon.  Although the matter was closely aligned with Local Government reform, consideration of directly elected mayors would be a part of separate council decisions about any potential devolution arrangement with Government.  The Leader referred to what he believed to be widespread opposition across rural counties in England to the introduction of directly elected mayor. It was noted that Group Leaders would also consider the matter in January 2017 together with the Shaping Dorset’s Future Group.

A question was asked in relation to the process for forming town councils in any new arrangements, to which the Chief Executive clarified that primarily this would be a consideration for the relevant district or borough council.

A number of concerns were shared at the meeting in relation to the scale, content and cost of the consultation exercise.  The Chief Executive explained that the responses provided a statistically valid response rate, that views on the content had been shared with the external company running the consultation to ensure appropriate challenge to the process, and that the cost was shared between all councils through transformation funding received from Government to support work on the Councils’ Combined Authority review.  It was noted that a financial summary would be circulated after the meeting.

The Leader confirmed that the County Council approach to decision making would be as open and transparent as possible.  He also confirmed that information would be shared with members at the appropriate stages, providing that there was content to share, as it would not be possible to share verbatim verbal updates given to leaders.

Thanks were passed to officers for the hard work, commitment and effort shown to date, irrespective of the outcome of the consultation in due course.  It was noted that the consultation continued a good track record of public engagement.

Resolved

1. That the progress of the Shaping Dorset’s Future Programme, and the ‘Working Together’ Programme with Parish and Town Councils be noted.

2. That the details of the public consultation on local government reform presented at the meeting be noted.

3. That the timeline and process through to a potential submission to the Secretary of State in February 2017 be noted.

4. That the Leader’s authority after consultation with the Chief Executive and Shaping Dorset’s Future Board to seek a consensus position with the eight other principal councils, as requested by government, be confirmed.

5. That the position with regard to the 2017 County Council elections be noted.

Reason for Decisions

To ensure local government services were sustainable and residents, businesses and communities were supported by the most effective local government arrangements.