MINISTERS have been told that a proposed unitary plan authority backed by Lichfield District Council will be able to “hit the ground running”.
The formal proposal for the creation of a new Southern Staffordshire body has been submitted to the Government after it signalled intent to end the current two-tier system.
It would mean services such as schools, highways and social care delivered by Staffordshire Council and parks, planning and waste which falls under Lichfield District Council would now come under a single authority.
But while the county council has thrown its weight behind a body covering the whole of Staffordshire and another representing Stoke-on-Trent, six district and borough councils have now drawn up plans for two authorities covering the north and south of the county.
Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of Lichfield District Council, has signed a joint letter with leaders of Cannock Chase District Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council, South Staffordshire District Council, Stafford Borough Council and Tamworth Borough Council outlining the benefits of the Southern Staffordshire proposal.
They have also submitted an interim plan outlining the benefits of such a split between the different regions of the north and the south of the county.
“There are two separate economies operating in Staffordshire – northern Staffordshire and southern Staffordshire. This plan demonstrates that southern and mid-Staffordshire functions as a single coherent economic, social and environmental geography, while also stressing its inherent diversity, which we see as a major strength.
“The southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary authority benefits from having up to five diverse but complementary urban centres, which act as the primary hubs of economic activity, surrounded by numerous thriving towns and rural villages.
“Southern and mid-Staffordshire have strong links with the West Midlands conurbation, including high levels of in and out commuting, and high levels of visitor flows for retail and leisure opportunities.
“Conversely, southern Staffordshire has weaker economic and identity links with northern Staffordshire and there is limited evidence of travel to work between the two.
“It is widely accepted that changing organisational structures alone does not transform public services. A southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary authority will seek to hit the ground running running, setting a clear vision for a new, modern local authority.
“The district and borough councils have a successful track record of working in partnership and establishing high-quality shared service arrangements.”
The new authority, if approved, would represent just under 675,000 residents – in line with the Government’s call for new unitary bodies to cover a minimum of 500,000.
The interim plan has been drawn up alongside a northern Staffordshire proposal which would include Stoke-on-Trent City Council and local authorities covering Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Staffordshire Moorlands.
The six councils behind the south Staffordshire proposal say the division into two bodies rather than a single entity would allow connections between residents and elected representatives to remain strong.
“It is important to keep what matters to you close – services are generally in-sourced and over time, that would be the intent with any current county services which are largely provided on a commissioned basis.
“A southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary authority will also be deeply embedded in the communities it serves, focussed on responding to the priorities of those communities and with a bold new approach to how services are provided.
“This plan recognises how important it is that any move to a single unitary authority for southern and mid-Staffordshire is delivered in a way that enables stronger community engagement and delivers genuine opportunities for neighbourhood empowerment.
“Our proposal has community power and double devolution writ through – enabling the right decisions to be taken at the right level of geography, including towns and parishes.”
“Building blocks”
The six councils believe the “building blocks” for a successful unitary authority covering areas including Lichfield district are already in place.
They have also begun working on a project to develop a “socio economic portrait” of the southern part of Staffordshire to help inform deeper planning for the new body.
The interim proposal added that a new unitary authority would be driven by data, focused on residents and commercially-minded.
The report said:
“The residents of the southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary authority will undoubtedly be ambitious for and look to it to place-make. Local council services today sometimes struggle to meet this challenge – they are often reactive and fixed on firefighting or trying to drive forward one or two key objectives only, giving less time and capacity to think about place-making.
“A new southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary authority’s ability to rise to this challenge and successfully create quality environments where people want to live, work, play and learn in, is dependent on its relationships with those residents, businesses and partners and – importantly – on the quality of services it provides to them and its capacity to become proactive, prevent demand and intervene early in the way it is organised.
“The interim plan proposal recognises that to provide local people with the quality services they expect, there will be a need to do things differently and change the way the new council functions, is structured – including the use of alternative models – and how it interacts with its communities.”
The interim plan said the savings made by the removal of duplication of roles, systems and buildings could be in the region of “several millions of pounds”.
The report adds:
“This is money which could be redirected to front-line services, be redistributed to service areas in the greatest need, or to reduce council tax levels.
“Alongside an opportunity to reduce the number of councillors, including duplication between county and district representatives and increasing the number of hyperlocal representatives through parish town and city councils, there is the opportunity to remove the confusion the current three tiers causes for residents.”
Staffordshire County Council’s proposal for two unitary authorities – one on its current county boundaries and another for Stoke-on-Trent – has also been questioned within the interim plan for the south and mid-Staffordshire alternative.
“While this option would also be administratively convenient in the short term, avoiding the challenges of disaggregation, it would fail to meet the basic criteria in terms of the minimum size of a unitary authority – one would be significantly greater than 500,000, the other significantly smaller.
“This option would not provide Stoke-on-Trent with financial sustainability and efficiencies. it would exacerbate the current inequality between county and city.
“Leaders believe a unitary comprising the ‘rest of Staffordshire’ with a population of nearly 900,000 would be too large and so lack accountability to residents.
“This option would ignore the compelling data on functional economic geographies.”
“Trailblazer devolution deal”
The plans could also sit alongside wider devolution efforts, which could see a combined authority structure or Mayor utilised in order to unlock additional powers.
Among the options on the table according to the six councils are a Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Mayoral Strategic Authority, joining the existing West Midlands Combined Authority or connecting with a Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Mayor
No preferred option has been put forward, but the interim plan identifies challenges with two of the options – but not the West Midlands possibility.
The report said:
“As has been evidenced in this document, the southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary area has strong socio and economic connections to the West Midlands region.
“The West Midlands Combined Authority is already very well established and has a trailblazer devolution deal.
“Being part of a West Midlands Combined Authority would provide significant benefits for our residents and businesses.”
The council chiefs have also warned that drawing up the final proposals for the deadline in November could cost up to £250,000 – while full implementation would range between £3million and £5million.
They added that their interim plan made a “compelling case” to pursue the north and south option to achieve the Government’s unitary authority target.
“The districts and boroughs in the south of Staffordshire are ready to work with any and all other local authorities who are willing to work with us on an equal footing to make a multi-unitary structure which includes a southern and mid-Staffordshire unitary a reality.”
The full interim plan can be viewed below:
LGR Interim Plan – Southern and Mid Staffordshire UA (1)Download
