LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats <info@oxfordshirelibdems.org.uk>

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER

May 16, 2006 6:12 PM
By Cllr Zoé Patrick in The Cabinet

LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER

This topic is the subject of much debate and speculation and of course we are still awaiting to hear more about what is truly behind these proposals.

I welcome this report from the Leader of the Council and I believe that we are heading for some major changes. However, I agree the challenge for us in Oxfordshire is about how we can best deliver services to the public and we have to think carefully about our role and that of the City Council.

Whatever the outcome, the most important priority for the people of Oxfordshire is that their services are delivered efficiently and effectively and they are not disenfranchised from the system. There are various models of dividing the county up into unitaries - and we have to consider what we feel is best for the residents of Oxfordshire.

We know the city has made it apparent it wishes to go it alone, but there are many who consider that the city within its present boundaries is too small. The idea of a doughnut with the city taken out is impossible to imagine, and the split between north and south of the county has been the one favoured by some of our district councils.

Of course, there is always the status quo and of course, this probably won't be ruled out, especially on the basis that the last time this exercise was run through some time ago, that is what ended up as the outcome.

However, there is a real opportunity here to deliver services to the people of Oxfordshire and there is a case here for localism - and in that I mean ensuring that if we are to make a case for the County to become a unitary in its own right, then we can devolve some of the power and decision-making right down to the people - and I believe the only way this can be done is through area committees.

I had the pleasure of attending the CCN Executive last Wednesday in Dermot's absence and there are some interesting proposals from the papers at the meeting. In particular, there was a paper on housing, planning and local government and the regions committee inquiry entitled 'Is There a Future for Local Government'?. In this paper it refers to County councils having a long track record of governance in shire England and also the response to the development of local Public Services Agreements and Local Area Agreements - and indeed this County has signed up to these.

However, my attention was particularly drawn to the section of regional interdependence and city regions where the CCN gave significant weight to the inter-relationship which exists between cities and their hinterland. Not only does this refer to the location of employment within cities which are providing support services for workers and their families, but also how the hinterland areas, due to their high environmental quality, provide important sources of recreational and other amenities for city dwellers.

I agree with the CEO when she referred to the 'travel to work' principle - and indeed many of our market towns look to Oxford as its 'heart'. We know many residents in towns like Abingdon, Bicester, Witney and Wantage all travel into Oxford either for work or play, and indeed many of our good public transport services bring people into our city.

So we mustn't divorce ourselves from the city of Oxford when looking at these plans and as such, I welcome the recommendation that the CE be instructed to work up options to consider benefits of both enhanced two-tier working with district councils or a unitary council for the whole of the county.