Title

Saint Petroc's flag flutters imperiously above County Hall in Exeter. The white cross, framed by a black margin on a green background, has become increasingly visible across Devon since its introduction five years ago. Ostensibly, the flag symbolises the historical unity of the county's residents: a sense of togetherness that distinguishes locals from neighbouring Cornwall and Somerset. But first impressions can be misleading. Devon is divided – and it is the future of local government that is driving a wedge between residents of this geographically diverse county. Earlier this year, the independent Boundary Committee for England recommended that Devon's two-tier system of local governance should be scrapped and replaced with a unitary county authority that would envelop eight of the region's district councils and manage all locally delivered services. Under the plan, only the towns of Plymouth and Torbay would continue to operate as separate, single-tier authorities. Devon County Council had not even applied for unitary status – ministers asked the Boundary Commission to review its arrangements following Exeter City Council's failed 2007 unitary bid. But according to the Boundary Commission, ministers judged that Exeter's bid carried ‘a number of financial risks', leading to the suggestion that a county-wide unitary would best improve service delivery and financial savings. The Commission's reserve option was to suggest a two-unitary arrangement, with one authority covering the economically powerful conurbation of Exeter and Exmouth (dubbed ‘Greater Exeter'), and another covering the remainder of Devon's current two-tier, mostly rural, districts. Since then, the county has divided along near-tribal lines in support or opposition to one of these proposals, with local districts, boroughs and cities vehemently opposed to the Commission's preferred choice. Accusations of political deceits, deals struck in smoke-filled rooms and inflated claims over financial benefits are rife – aren't they always with unitary reorganisations? But what is actually at stake? Perhaps the most significant proposal is that Exeter Council, which alongside Plymouth is the county's most dynamic local economy, would (unlike Plymouth) be enveloped into the larger unitary. The move would have considerable ramifications. At an emergency meeting of Exeter Council on September 18, the authority's 36 attending members voted overwhelmingly to reject the Boundary Commission's preferred unitary model because it would undermine 800 years of self-government in the city. In his formal response to the Boundary Commission's proposals (the consultation period closed this month), Exeter's chief executive Philip Bostock claims that, in relation to the greater Exeter area, it fails to meet all of the five qualifying criteria laid down by secretary of state's Hazel Blears. Ms Blears and local government minister John Healey have insisted that reorganisations must provide strong and accountable leadership; deliver opportunities for neighbourhood empowerment; be supported by a broad cross section of stakeholders; deliver value for money; and be affordable in the sense that it should not impact on council tax levels. In particular, Exeter's leaders and residents believe that the loss of basic democratic controls over key services such as waste disposal, parking and street cleaning would be a ‘travesty' – breaching the empowerment and accountability criteria. Bostock writes: ‘Above all, the vital principle which underpins true local government as opposed to mere local administration – that of empowered, resourced and accountable representative local democratic governance – simply cannot be satisfied in Exeter by the draft proposal of a single Devon unitary.' Instead, Bostock believes that his 50-page response outlines a ‘compelling case' for a two-unitary model for the county. He argues that there are strong rationales for either the Greater Exeter-rural Devon model (the Commission's second preference) or the city's original application for unitary status. In particular, the submission argues that a two-unitary model would allow the county to focus on contrasting models for economic growth (one based on an urban model, the other rural) that would melt into a single, perhaps less dynamic, growth model covering an entire county. Cllr Pete Edwards, chair of Exeter's local government review committee, says: ‘The evidence is there for all to see. People will have a better democratic representation, there is more opportunity to engage with communities, urban and rural needs can be given [separate] attention, it can be funded and it produces savings.' But it is this last issue – savings – that is perhaps undermining Exeter's bid. While Bostock's two-unitary plan would make reasonably significant savings, which his team estimate to be £3.1m after covering transitional costs, these are dwarfed by the savings estimated for a county-wide unitary. Cllr Brian Greenslade, leader of Devon CC, claims that the switch to a single-tier county would save taxpayers £28.1m over the first five years, guaranteeing that the reorganisation's impact on local taxes would be minimal. Mr Greenslade points to the publication of an affordability study on the two Boundary Commission proposals, published this summer, which states that all transitional costs would be met in three and a half years – and bring annual savings of £19m thereafter. ‘Even if we have understated the possible savings as the independent assessment suggests, £28.1m in the fifth year of a new unitary is a huge saving. ‘Our calculations indicate that the option to create two unitary councils would leave Devonians at least £27m worse off,' Mr Greenslade says. Indeed, Devon's affordability study casts doubt on Bostock's savings proposal and claims that the two-unitary option would save a mere £1.2m over five years. Similarly, in their consultation submissions, Devon's cities and districts joined forces to dispute the projected county-wide savings as ‘unrealistic'. More specifically, local residents also doubt the figures. Helen, an Exeter resident and public servant who describes herself as ‘open minded' about the reorganisation, told The MJ: ‘If taxpayers can see a firm business and political case for the unitary, then I would say "fine – go ahead" but I have yet to see a convincing argument. I don't believe the figures we have seen so far and anybody with a cursory understanding of public sector reorganisations would know that costs almost always escalate.' In their recently-published book, Botched business, academics Michael Chisholm and Steve Leach claimed that official estimates for savings from the first five new unitaries (including neighbouring Cornwall) were three times higher (£75m) than the probable savings (£25m) once re-investment requirements had been considered. So there is sufficient doubt about the financial case. But more simply, voters in Devon are now asking ‘what's the best framework for local service delivery?' Back to the MJ's trusted ‘swing voter' Helen: ‘A unitary Devon would mean the end of 800 years of direct local government in Exeter – that's not something that I would like to see given away lightly,' she says. ‘simple cash savings are all well and good – but residents are more concerned about the quality of their local services and there's been a paucity of informed debate locally about the impact on services.' Cllr Edwards believes that service quality concerns are also tied in with worries around democratic accountability. There is, he says, ‘an unacceptably high cost in the loss of strategic and democratic accountability.' Under the Boundary Commission's preferred plan, Exeter's local accountability would pass to a ‘city board', which would replace many elected councillors. The review suggests that Exeter would likely have 16 councillors to replace the current 40-strong council (currently supplemented by nine county councillors for the city). However, proponents of the unitary plan argue that community-level democracy would be upheld by devolving decision-making to community boards representing areas akin to the current cities and districts. Whether that sort of local representation will be enough to placate residents remains to be seen. Interestingly, though, there is significant support for the county unitary among other local public bodies, including the police and fire authorities, and large local health and education bodies. When contacted by The MJ, senior staff within these organisations felt that the tightening financial climate for local authorities, and a rationalisation of local government responsibilities nationally, were the main attractions for a county-wide unitary. One senior source said: ‘Speaking as a resident of Devon, many Devonians currently don't know which particular authority provides some council services. They would under a unitary county – as there is no other authority. So while some argue that scrapping district and city councils erodes direct local democracy, there is a strong case for saying it simultaneously improves local accountability.' That logic could sway the Boundary Commission's final recommendation to ministers in November and become the final nail in the coffin for self-government in the likes of Exeter, Teignbridge and Torridge. Like it or not, citizens of Devon may soon be forced to unite behind St Petroc's flag.

Title

WHITEHALL

Driving a wedge through Devon

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING