Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

Key points

• Devolution will create a ‘Strategic Authority’ for Hampshire and the Solent. This authority will make decisions that used to be made by central government
• Making these decisions locally, will help ensure that local priorities are met
• The new body won’t change what councils do
• Some staff in Hampshire 2050 might be transferred to the new organisation, because their roles are closely involved
• Devolution won’t have a direct impact on other Council staff. Most people will carry on doing what they do now, with no changes

Where Strategic Authorities will sit in the central / local government landscape

Current

Central Government
Controls many things that have local impacts, such as regional transport networks, regional planning decisions.

Local councils
Can only raise money through council tax and have little say in regional decisions.

Transfer of powers and access to better funding.

Central Government
Controls national-level decision making.

Strategic authorities
New regional duties and powers in:

• funding and investment
• transport and local infrastructure
• skills and employment
• housing and planning
• economic development
• environment and climate change
• health and wellbeing
• public safety

Local councils
Have representatives at the strategic authority, so can influence policy.

Key points

• The 15 councils in Hampshire and the Solent will be reorganised into a smaller number of new councils
• The new councils will be unitary, delivering both county and district-level services
• Our County Council services will be divided up into different geographies, and delivered by the newly-created councils
• Many of the staff delivering those services will transfer to the new councils
• We don’t yet know how many new councils there will be, or any details of how the services will be transferred

Interim proposals for Local Government Reorganisation in the Hampshire and Solent region were submitted to central Government on 21 March. This was the first step locally towards Government ambitions to replace the current two-tier council system with new unitary (all-purpose) councils, simplifying how councils are organised and run.

Final proposals for Local Government Reorganisation are being developed for submission to central Government this autumn.

The proposals will need to reflect key criteria set by Government around areas such as prioritising the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to residents; being the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks; demonstrating that councils in local areas are working together on plans that meet local needs and are informed on local views; and enabling stronger community engagement and neighbourhood empowerment.

Hampshire County Council is also working to a set of guiding principles which reflect its own key responsibility as the provider of the majority of local government services in Hampshire – to help ensure the most effective and sustainable future structure for local government:

• We will prioritise delivery of efficient, high quality public services, enhancing delivery through reform whilst avoiding unnecessary fragmentation of services.
• We will safeguard service users, including vulnerable children and adults, by minimising risk to the services the County Council delivers and the potential threats from a lack of effective business continuity and appropriate future local government structures in the long-term.
• We will seek to ensure organisations of the future have the best chance of being financially sustainable and resilient. Organisations will need to be sufficiently large to withstand financial shocks and smoothing of significant cost drivers such as demography and deprivation.
• We will leverage anchor institutions as the basis of the most appropriate structures to underpin sustainable delivery that offers value-for-money for the taxpayer and minimises the cost of transition.
• We recognise that any future Unitary Solution will require effective mechanisms to enable local identity, engagement and local growth ambitions (including Local Place/Regeneration Boards, Area Committees and potential future Development Corporations.
• We want to ensure equity of representation in a future Mayoral Combined Authority. All mainland Unitary Authorities to have equitable representation and voting rights.
• We recognise that our workforce is our most important asset, and we are committed to ensuring transparency and openness in our communication with our staff and that our colleagues are treated respectfully and supported through the change and uncertainty ahead of us.

The County Council’s overarching objective is to develop financially resilient organisations which can deliver and enable the best possible public services and ultimately the best outcomes for residents and communities.

The overriding priority is to ensure that whatever local government structure is in place in the years to come, the needs of residents are front and centre of everyone’s thinking. The County Council has a duty to ensure that its services to residents continue to meet the needs of Hampshire’s citizens and are sustainable for years to come – no matter how these services are organised - so that everyone, and in particular those who are most in need, can keep accessing high-performing essential services, like they do today.

What the local government landscape could look like in Hampshire after reorganisation

Strategy

Before and after reorganisation.

Strategic Authority
Sets the strategy for the area

Local services

Before reorganisation:

• Hampshire County Council
• 11 District Councils

• Portsmouth City Council
• Isle of Wight Council
• Southampton City Council

• Town and Parish Councils

After reorganisation:

• Unitary authorities
  Deliver local services. Unitaries cover a wide range of responsibilities previously held by county and district councils. We don't yet know how many unitaries Hampshire will have. Government expects most new unitaries will serve a population of 500,000 or more.

• Town and Parish Councils