25/01/2024
Combined County Authority consultation - South Ribble's response 🔈
At an Extraordinary Meeting of the council last night, a formal response to the consultation about the draft Lancashire Devolution proposal was agreed.
See the response, link to the consultation, and full statement at www.southribble.gov.uk/combinedcountyauthority
Councillors considered all the proposals carefully and have significant budgetary concerns and are also concerned about the proposed decision-making process, a process which explicitly excludes representatives from all the districts covered by the Combined County Authority.
It was made clear that the council is not against devolution in principle, and recognise that devolution has the potential to secure significant benefits for Lancashire, encouraging strong economic growth and increased productivity, alongside better health and wellbeing and strengthened public services. However, in their view, these benefits cannot be achieved through the proposal.
They believe the proposals will completely strip away decision making power from elected representatives who are best placed to understand the changing needs of their communities, so cannot support the proposals.
The consultation is open to anyone who lives or works in Lancashire, and we are encouraging people to view the proposals and share their views so that we can move forward with the best possible outcome for South Ribble.
