The following response to publication of the Government’s new Devolution White Paper for England has been shared by Council Leader Gale Waller.
"The UK Government has published its Devolution White Paper. This sets out how it plans to give more powers to and – in some cases – reorganise local government in England. The White Paper is very much a direction of travel, with Government keen to work closely with local authorities to grow the UK economy and deliver public services.
"It’s clear that Government expects to bring about significant changes to the way local government works and that this will affect a large number of Councils – particularly among those who are not already accessing devolved powers. It’s also clear that this amount of change will take a long time. It will require a number of years to fully understand, agree upon and then implement any kind of large-scale reorganisation.
"It’s important that Rutland engages constructively and proactively in this process. We will need to continue discussions about devolution with neighbouring authorities, to understand their views and consider the various permutations of what’s proposed in the White Paper, relative to our area.
"The Government has said it will write to council leaders in the New Year to invite initial proposals, setting out the criteria for what it considers to be sustainable unitary structures, when areas should submit proposals and how Government will then respond.
"What we can say for certain is that we will only support plans or proposals if we believe they are beneficial to Rutland and its communities."
Gale Waller, Leader of Rutland County Council