East Cambridgeshire District Council has urged the Government to consider making the district a pilot area for greater devolution, testing how more local services and decisions could be handed to the council.
The call came as Full Council approved a motion reaffirming its opposition to local government reorganisation (LGR), which it described as ‘rushed and poorly managed’. The motion also said there was ‘little evidence that larger authorities automatically deliver better services’.
‘We want the Government to consider making East Cambridgeshire a pilot area for greater devolution. This would test how the council could take on responsibility for delivering more local services and making more decisions locally,’ council leader Anna Bailey commented.
She said the proposal was supported by a county-wide LGR survey, which showed that East Cambridgeshire ‘consistently outperformed’ other local councils across a range of measures.
‘Our record provides a strong basis for testing how more services could be delivered locally, with clear accountability to the communities they serve.’
Cllr Bailey pointed to the council's record in support of this claim, citing as evidence the councils lack of external borrowing, a 13-year freeze on its share of council tax and £6.2m returned by its trading company.
She called on the Government to explain why reorganisation is necessary and publish its evidence, and invited the Secretary of State and the Minister for Local Government to visit the district.
