Devon Local Government Review

Concepts from Teignbridge District Council

Teignbridge

D ISTRICT COUNCI L South Devon Teignbridge District Council

Contents Page

General principles 3

Getting to know Teignbridge - Key Facts 4

Maps that influence unitary concepts 7

Relevant information for existing Devon authorities 11

Overarching concept for Local Government Review 12

Concepts based on geographic areas 17

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General principles

In identifying potential concepts, we have had regard to the following principles.

Guiding principles:

1. Strategic leadership 2. Community empowerment – local place shaping 3. Quality service delivery 4. Efficiency gains and value for money 5. Parish & town councils to be retained 6. Local decision making 7. Centrally-organised service delivery 8. Combined resources for housing delivery across the county 9. Standardisation and improvement of environmental issues such as waste and recycling collection 10. Shared ‘agencies’ and removal of duplication to ensure value for money 11. Promotion and inclusion for increased democratic engagement 12. Develop MAAs (Multi Area Agreements) to deliver any common, large scale/ 13. spatial priorities, such as economic development and infrastructure. These to 14. extend across county boundaries, where it is felt they would provide enhanced 15. services to local communities.

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Getting to Know Teignbridge - Key Facts

The Teignbridge District covers 260 square miles, which includes 98 square miles of Dartmoor National Park. The district is 22 miles long and 21 miles wide, with 22 miles of coastline including the Exe and Teign estuaries.

• The mid-year 2006 Teignbridge population estimate is 125,500 • Teignbridge’s population is increasing year on year by between 0.5% and 1.1% compared with the UK average growth of 0.5% per year since 2001 • Teignbridge’s population from 2004 to 2029 is projected to increase by 22% from 123,900 to 151,400. This is significantly higher than the projected UK population increase of 12% projected between 2004 and 2031 • The population is ageing with number of people of retirement age projected to increase from 22% (in 2004) of the total population of Teignbridge to 31% by 2029. This is greater than the nationally projected increase from 16% (in 2004) to 23% (in 2031) of the UK population who will be over 65 • The numbers of all ethnic minority groups in the population are increasing. In 2001 they made up 1.0% of the Teignbridge population compared with 2.1% in 2004

• Teignbridge has 1,045 miles of road, which is 13% of the roads within the area maintained by Devon County Council and 72 miles of cycle ways • In 2004 Teignbridge had the highest road transport CO2 emissions in Devon, accounting for 17% of the total CO2 emissions by road

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• In 2001 there were 66,000 cars and vans owned by households in the district, up from 49,000 in 1991. This reflects the rural nature of the district and the lack of frequent public transport in some areas

• There is access to the rail network in 5 Teignbridge towns: Newton Abbot, Teignmouth, Dawlish, Dawlish Warren and Starcross

• The employment rate in Teignbridge has increased by 9.2% from March 1999 to December 2006 and is now 83.6% which is above the rates for the South West (77.9%) and England (74.3%) • Conversely the unemployment rate has fallen over the same time period and was 1.2% (843 people) in April 2007 which is lower than the national rate of 2.5%. (These figures are based on the numbers claiming Job Seekers Allowance) • The number of unemployed 16-24yr olds as a % of the total unemployed has increased from 24% to 30% between 2000 and 2007

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• Wage rates have increased to an average of £393.50 per week but are still below the average in the South West (£423.50) and Great Britain (£449.60)

• In Teignbridge there were a total of 117,958 people living in 51,417 households in 2001 • Single person households account for 29% of total households. This is comparable with rates for Devon and England & Wales. • Over half (59%) of the single person households consist of one adult of pensionable age. This is significantly above levels for both Devon (52%) and England & alesW (48%). • Outside of London, access to home ownership is most problematic in the South West region, where average house price to household gross earned income ratios are 4.66 to 1. • There are currently 3389 households on the Register of Housing Need.

• The total number of recorded offences in Teignbridge in early 2006 was just over half that of the average number in England and Wales at 13.4 compared with 24.9 offences per 1000 population

• The number of disability living allowance claimants in the district has risen by 20.6% between 2002 and 2006 from 4320 to 5210 (and is now 4.2% of the total Teignbridge population compared with 4.5% in England) • 3,200 of the district’s children were living in benefit dependent households in 2007 • 14% of the district’s children lived in low income households in 2001 compared with 12% in South Hams & West Devon and 21% in England

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Maps that influence unitary concepts

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Travel to work patterns in Devon

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Travel to work patterns between housing sub markets

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Relevant information for existing Devon authorities

2006 Area New Housing to 2026 Population (hectares) 2026 Projected (RSS EiP Panel Report) Population 1

Devon County 740,800 656,415 85,700 940,692

Including:

East Devon District Council 131,100 81,440 17,100 171,456

Exeter City Council 119,600 4,703 12,000 147,920

Mid Devon District Council 74,500 91,293 7,400 91,964

North Devon District Council 91,500 108,590 10,900 117,224

South Hams District Council 83,200 88,651 11,800 111,048

Teignbridge District Council 125,500 67,387 10,400 150,044

Torridge District Council 64,200 98,387 10,700 89,452

West Devon Borough Council 51,200 115,964 4,400 61,584

Torbay Council 133,200 6,288 20,000 180,400

Plymouth City Council 248,100 7,978 24,500 305,920

Dartmoor National Park 33,500 2 95,311 1,000 3 34,360

1 based on 2006 population plus household growth indicated in SW RSS EiP Report at 2.36 people per household 2 2001 Census 3 included in Devon County Figure

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Concepts for Local Government Review in Devon

Parishes

1. Parish and Town Councils are essential. In any new unitary structure Town and Parish Councils will play a vital role. There is a strong tradition of such councils in most of Devon, outside Exeter, Plymouth and Torbay.

2. Some Town and Parish Councils have achieved Quality status but may feel they have benefited in only small ways from their progress. There has not, generally speaking, been a transfer of powers to the Quality Councils.

3. A number of Parish Councils are small and may lack the capacity to deal with larger issues or, for example, manage service provision locally if it were transferred.

4. It is possible to see a future with Town Councils undertaking more service delivery and enhancing their ‘relevance’ to the community. Parish Councils could cluster, maintaining their identity and membership, but working together to achieve capacity and delivering, within their cluster, a wider range of local services.

5. There is some evidence that Parishes are now ‘sharing’ Clerks because of recruitment difficulties or the perceived role of and remuneration for Clerks.

6. If unitary structures are to work in Devon, there needs to be a strengthening of Community Engagement and Empowerment. The loss of Parish and Town Councils would be a significant detriment to the community.

7. Strong, active and vibrant local councils are more likely to attract the interest of their communities, be seen to be more relevant and result in better community engagement and lead to greater interest in the work of such councils.

8. Some of the tasks now dealt with by district councils (for example, green spaces, pride in our parks, could be devolved to Town and clusters of Parish Councils.

9. Community engagement is often best done at a very local level. Parish and Town Councils can be an effective conduit for this work alongside other mechanisms for devolved decision making.

10. New unitary councils in Devon must have Parish/Town Councils

Local Decision Making

1. Unitary local government in a large, mainly rural and sparsely populated county like Devon is likely to feel remote and detached from its customers.

2. This can be overcome through strong devolved decision making that is relevant to natural communities. Area Committees can be established, to deal with routine planning matters and other devolved decision making.

3. While some issues may be reserved for elected Members (planning for instance) there

12 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council is significant scope to include membership from local groups and businesses, voluntary and community sector. A model for this is the SEEP (Social, Economic and Environmental Partners) on the current Regional Assembly.

4. It is a model that could be adapted to enhance the work of local government in the county.

5. Through the involvements of SEEPs and other partners, it is possible to see that Local Strategic Partnerships, which may well need to be remodelled as a result of changes in councils, could be strengthened and enhance the representation of a variety of communities and interests – voluntary, business, agriculture, environment etc.

Strategic Leadership and decision making

1. There are inequalities of health and service delivery in the County. Other public agencies work on a wider county or county-plus basis, although they have smaller areas of management/ command within that.

2. Government is also seeking to work on a bigger basis than district councils and this is reflected in the Local Area Agreement and Comprehensive Area Agreement agenda. Increasingly, District Councils are not as relevant to the service planning picture as they once were.

3. Economic development and planning is also not constrained only on a district boundary and the needs of business are now more likely to be better met on a larger scale through bigger geographic councils.

4. Strategic leadership is essential in terms of planning for significant long term development such as housing, provision of sufficient affordable housing, economic development, demographic changes, retaining and attracting young people within the county.

5. Additionally, local Government can engage more effectively with partners to respond to the challenges of social deprivation, poor health and health inequalities across the County. It is important to value and retain the existing good work but improve investment, for example, in encouraging aspiration and supporting the life chances of young people.

6. This is more likely to be better achieved through councils which cover a larger area and have the resources to identify and respond to the issues and actively engage partners.

7. Greater economies of scale are likely to be achieved through fewer larger unitary councils PROVIDED there is a strong and robust local network of town and parish councils, devolved decision making and meaningful community engagement/consultation.

Service delivery

1. Unitary local government in Devon must not be an excuse to replicate administrative or back- office functions. This would not be the best use of customers’ money, which should be directed to maintaining and improving the services provided.

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2. Support services could be centrally organised, serving more than one authority, although responsive to the decisions of ‘client’ councils. These services could include Waste Collection, Highways, Trading Standards.

3. Other current County services such as Education, Children and Young Peoples Services and Social Services require a different approach to ensure there is capacity (human and financial) to continue delivering services and respond to the challenging demands for resources.

4. An agency could be set-up and contracted by the unitary councils to ensure a county wide approach, Member involvement, and provide flexibility so that if a higher standard of service delivery is required in one council area, it can be delivered.

5. It is essential that valuable skills are maintained in the county and that any new structure is robust and soundly managed to deliver, for example, the Children’s and Young People agenda while ensuring councils comply with the regulatory framework.

Housing:

1. Affordable housing is a key issue across the county and no area is exempt. The way the Housing Corporation works has changed with ‘bids’ now sought from council and partner housing associations.

2. By combining resources, it is possibly to look at housing across the county, plan more effectively, and ensure a quality and skilled service supporting both homeless and longer-term planning with regard to new build affordable housing and upgrading the existing housing stock.

3. An option in a new Unitary Devon is for a single ‘Housing Agency’ to manage homelessness and to create much needed ‘corporate capacity’ in terms of building together strong and robust programmes for affordable housing projects which could attract a greater slice of Housing Corporation funding.

4. Improvement to the existing housing stock is also important and for the foreseeable future funding for Private Sector Renewal monies will be on a reduced allocation/bid basis. It therefore makes sense to ensure that county wide there is a robust bid submission that will draw in the best amount of available money to regenerate existing housing stock and assist in cutting fuel poverty.

5. Most councils in Devon have already transferred their housing stock but a few retain a housing function. The experience of new start-up Housing Associations based on ex-council stock is not always successful.

6. In a Unitary Devon it would be an option to reconsider the transfer of housing to housing associations and for the funds generated to be invested in additional affordable housing programmes and improving the current housing stock.

Environment

1. Councils have worked in Partnership with Devon County Council and developed some very successful waste and recycling schemes. Some districts have not yet seen the acceleration of recycling that others have enjoyed.

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2. However, there is a mixed approach to what can be collected at the kerbside and this is confusing to residents who wondered why they can put out a plastic lemonade bottles for recycling in one area but not another and why garden waste is collected by one council and not another.

3. Unitary status in Devon provides and opportunity for (a) standardisation and (b) improvement. The aim of a standard collection across the county and increasing the amount that is recycled is a prize worthy of the investment.

Value for money

1. Research indicates people want to see their money used well and dislike waste. Any new unitary structures must not duplicate management tiers or simply carry-on with any current practices that, while efficient at one time, are not now so.

2. Delivering public services does not have to be done only through directly managed service departments. We can and ought to set standards of service but gain the efficiencies through the economies of scale that could be delivered through shared ‘agencies’.

3. There is clearly significant duplication of service management and cost across the county. This money, if it can be released, can be used to invest in sustaining and improving the services provided for residents.

4. Resources released can be used to tackle the pressing issues of environmental change, social deprivation and isolation, improvement in education and skills training, encouraging the county’s children to be aspirational (recognised as an issue in the new draft Children’s and Young People’s Plan).

Democratic engagement

1. The recent Councillors’ Commission document made a number of recommendations about how to improve local democracy by encouraging people who are able and qualified to stand as Councillors to do so, and enabling them to secure the public interest in the work that they carry out for their communities, therefore raising the turnout at local elections.

2. A unitary model for Devon presents the opportunity to work towards making Councillors more representative of the communities they are working for. New unitary structures may well provide an opportunity to improve representation of the sexes, races and those of working and retirement age when it comes to the elected make-up of Councils.

3. We also refer to recommendation 3 of the Councillors’ Commission, which gives further encouragement to the view that the role of councillor should be compatible with full or part-time employment, and therefore new authorities should establish themselves to minimise barriers to community engagement.

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Summary

1. Local Government Review is an opportunity to take stock and look at how changes and improvements could be made for the benefit of residents and visitors across Devon.

2. Two-tier local government is difficult to explain and the public, even 34 years after the last major changes, find it difficult to understand which council does what and who to contact.

3. The financial and service environment has changed dramatically since the 1974 local government reforms. While councils have responded positively to the changes, there is a question mark over their ability to meet the new larger agendas of strategic planning, health and social care, housing and children’s services.

4. This paper does not comment on what form local Government in Devon should take but seeks to consider some of the options for the functions and how scarce resources can be better used and how local Government can better relate to, for example, other organisations such as the Police, the NHS, Fire and Rescue Services, Government Office and regional agencies.

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Concepts based on geographic areas

Please note – the circles on the following concept maps are not representative of size.

17 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept A A Concept 4 unitaries

18 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept B 3 unitaries

19 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept C 5 unitaries

20 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept D 3 unitaries

21 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept E 4 unitaries

22 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept F 4 unitaries

23 10 April 2008 Teignbridge District Council Concept G 4 unitaries

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