A CUMBRIAN MP has urged the leaders of Cumbria’s two new councils to discuss what he calls a ‘lucrative devolution deal’ immediately.
Mark Jenkinson, the MP for Workington, has written to both Mark Fryer and Jonathan Brooks, the leaders of the Cumberland unitary authority and Westmorland and Furness unitary authority respectively, to convince them to talk about the possibility of an elected mayor for Cumbria.
Such a mayor would have oversight of Cumbria’s two authorities which come into power in April after local government reform (LGR).
Mr Jenkinson said: “This is a fantastic opportunity, and I would not want to see Cumbria miss out by not acting on this quickly. Leaders of Cumbria’s two new unitary councils must act swiftly and decisively to prevent our county getting left behind.
“The Secretary of State’s door is open.
“Now is not the time for procrastination.
“Other local authority areas including North Yorkshire, which will only vest as a unitary authority on the same day as Cumberland, were quick out of the blocks – and it has already indicated that it is minded to agree a significant devolution package worth £18million a year, plus a further £13million over the next two years.
“The creation of the unitary council you will lead from April need not be the end of local government reform: it is simply a milestone in the process.
“A devolution deal is the ultimate prize.”
In response, Mr Brooks said the process going on in Yorkshire is slightly different to what’s happening in Cumbria: “The difference between Cumbria and Yorkshire and the northeast is we’ve got Cumbria County Council being split and then aggregating the services.
“In North Yorkshire and Somerset, the county council is remaining in place.
“We’re splitting that authority at the same time as taking on the responsibilities of the smaller authorities.
“The work that we must do is greater, so we have to focus on that.
“I don’t think we have the capacity to embrace another significant change.
“I’ve spoken to other upper-tier leaders about devolution and that is another 18-month process.
“I think for us, we’re already focusing on what the Government has asked us to do with LGR.”
Brooks also said the idea of splitting the county in two and ‘stitching it back together’ appears to go against the grain.
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