Written Evidence from Surrey County Council (EDE 15)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Written evidence from Surrey County Council (EDE 15) Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee The Evolution of Devolution: English Devolution 1. Surrey County Council (SCC) welcomes the opportunity to submit evidence for this inquiry on the evolution of English devolution. We are encouraged that the Government recognises the importance of devolution for strengthening local economies and facilitating a better quality of life for residents. We see this as an opportunity to inform debate ahead of the Government’s publication of the Devolution and Recovery White Paper. We would also be willing to provide oral evidence to the Committee. Key messages 2. Surrey has a huge amount of potential and can play a leading role in the economic recovery from Covid-19. To do this, English local government needs strengthening with more certainty around the freedoms, flexibilities and funding that can be used to implement the right policies for local circumstances. This would increase the chances of a stronger and sustained economic recovery, safeguarding services for local residents and successfully levelling up the country. 3. Local authorities provide crucial local leadership to address the challenges and opportunities they face, so they can improve the lives of residents and the places they live in. They have the depth of insight into and experience of their places and communities. This is crucial as we continue to respond to the pandemic with our partners, and residents have depended on our services to support them through the Covid-19 crisis. 4. Devolution also has the potential to rejuvenate local democracy in England. Disillusionment with the democratic system is translating into poor turnout at local elections. For example, turnout for the Surrey County Council elections in 2017 was 36%, compared to 68.8% for the General Election that same year. In addition, 41% of Surrey’s residents do not feel they are able to influence local decision making1. 5. Our view is that the forthcoming Devolution and Recovery White Paper should set out a clear framework for devolution, with minimum levels of devolution, so local authorities have a better understanding of the parameters that govern the negotiation of devolution deals. This would then enable the negotiation of the devolution of additional powers and responsibilities relevant to a particular area. 6. Devolution deals would enable areas to empower their growth boards and deliver long-term plans for local growth. They could, for instance, design and implement a local employer-led skills system to increase residents’ readiness for the labour market and help employers fill vacancies. The Growth Board would become the key 1 Surrey Residents Survey, Quarter 2 (July to September) 2020 1 economic development partnership, bringing together local government, health and business partners to oversee and accelerate work to drive improvements to the economy, homes, infrastructure and quality of life. 7. Moving to a simpler local government system would provide a significant boost through streamlining, a joined-up approach, greater accountability, and better and fairer access to services. The current system is not fit for purpose or affordable and is holding back our local areas. 8. The Devolution and Recovery White Paper is an opportunity for the Government to be bold and to bring clarity to what it is willing to devolve. It can support improved and better coordinated health and wellbeing approaches, climate change strategies and newly empowered communities, which all have a role to play in facilitating a strong economy and public services and increased tax revenue. 9. Devolving powers and flexibilities will enable areas to develop their own approaches to local engagement. In Surrey, we are proposing to create 25-30 Local Community Networks (LCNs), based on Surrey’s natural communities and that people will recognise and identify with. These will bring together residents, local government, town and parish councils, other public services and partners to decide priorities, tackle local issues, make decisions and grasp opportunities within communities. Every part of the new council, whether urban or rural, would be in an LCN area. They will strengthen democracy in Surrey by introducing a more local engagement model across the public services system than exists in the current structure. Introduction 10.SCC is responsible for services for over 1.1 million residents including adult social care, children’s services and highways maintenance. Surrey’s economy contributes over £40 billion Gross Value Added (GVA) each year, of which £7.5 billion goes to the Exchequer, has very high business density of 612 businesses per 10,000 population, over half the working age population is educated to degree level or above and has an economic activity rate of over 83%. 11.Given the county’s proximity to London, it is considered peri-urban and has a complex set of characteristics including road, rail and air congestion, land pressure, large volumes of commuting to the capital and a hugely varied environment. These pressures will be exacerbated as the population grows, and the impact of being so close to London is continually felt. The population is also due to grow by 1.4% by 2030, with the older population expected to see the fastest growth rate with the 85+ population growing by nearly 30% and 65-84 population by nearly 19%. 12.While most people who live in Surrey generally have a high quality of life, the county faces many challenges, some of which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The list below exemplifies some of the county’s most pressing issues: Surrey’s strong economic performance and relative affluence masks economic inequalities, pockets of deprivation and growing disparity between the east 2 and west of the county. Covid-19 is projected to result in a 14.3% fall in GVA - an estimated reduction of over £6 billion. Housing is increasingly unaffordable, with Surrey’s median house price at £435,000, significantly more than the South East average of £322,000 and over 13 times the county salary median. This is contributing to skilled workers leaving the county. It is also estimated the county will need at least 67,500 additional homes over the next decade. Climate change is a major issue, with 46% of the county’s carbon emissions coming from transport, and 6,900 vehicles travelling through the county each day, significantly above regional and national averages. While our population has average life expectancy over 80, there are stark inequalities across our population in the number of years people can live in good health for. For example, a man living in Godalming Holloway in Waverley borough can expect to live for 18 years longer in good health on average than a man living in Canalside in Woking borough. 13.Surrey is also a county of opportunity with strong assets. The beauty of its countryside and its proximity to London means it is well-placed to support the capital’s revival as a global economic hub. The county can act as a test bed for the green economy, trialling new approaches to sustainable growth that can be rolled out across the country that could also help with the climate emergency. 14.The local health and care system is already benefitting from devolution. The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System secured a devolution agreement in 2017, increasing local control over health and care commissioning decisions and aligning NHS and local government responsibilities. The impact of this agreement has enabled the ICS to work across Surrey to drive new collaborations and innovations in services. We aspire to build on this and secure further devolution for health and care to support moving towards our ambitions 15.Local authorities provide crucial local leadership to address these challenges and opportunities so they can improve the lives of residents and the places they live in. They have the depth of insight into and experience of their places and communities. This is crucial as we continue to respond to the pandemic with our partners, and residents have depended on our services to support them through the Covid-19 crisis. For instance, in a recent survey we conducted on residents’ experiences of the crisis, nearly two-thirds (65%) of respondents said they had relied on at least one source of information from Surrey County Council to support themselves. The case for devolution 16.To respond to these challenges and opportunities, and maximise the effectiveness of support to residents, English local government needs strengthening with more freedoms, flexibilities and funding that can be used to tailor policy to local circumstances. Devolution can support policies that adapt to the needs of places such as Surrey where growth is polycentric, so the needs of all residents are met regardless 3 of whether they live on county’s border with London or in a rural village near Hampshire, Sussex or Kent. 17.A clear agenda from Government with well-articulated outcomes and a framework for local authorities to work with would increase the chances of a stronger and sustained economic recovery and successfully levelling up the country. Devolution would give local places the ability to level up within regions as well as across the country so local partners can target resources and interventions to tackle regional economic disparity and provide more opportunities for the people who live in them. 18.Devolution also has the potential to rejuvenate local democracy in England. Disillusionment with the democratic system is translating into poor turnout at local elections. For example, turnout for the Surrey County Council elections in 2017 was 36%, compared to 68.8% for the General Election that same year. In addition, 41% of Surrey’s residents do not feel they are able to influence local decision making2. 19.When we have been more locally responsive and engaged with our communities, this inspires confidence of residents in local institutions, which will help strengthen faith in local democracy.