Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from:

Councillor Pam Bosworth

Councillor Steve Cunnington

Councillor Ben Green

Councillor Jane Kingman

Councillor Zoe Lane

Councillor Virginia Moran

Councillor Nick Robins

Councillor Penny Robins

Councillor Rob Shorrock

Councillor Ian Stokes

Councillor Murray Turner

The Council welcomes engagement from members of the public. To speak at this meeting please register at least 3 working days before the date of the meeting via democracy@southkesteven.gov.uk.

No questions had been received from members of the public.

To brief Council on the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire, as provisionally agreed between the Government and the local authorities of Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), and North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) on 22 November 2023, and to invite Council to engage with the consultation exercise and implementation process.

Members considered a briefing on the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire, provisionally agreed between the Government and the local authorities of Lincolnshire County Council (LCC), North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC), and North Lincolnshire Council (NLC) on 22 November 2023.

Council Procedure Rule 14.4 allowed for speeches of no more than 5 minutes in length. However, Council consented to allow flexibility with this time limit.

In moving amended recommendations, the Leader of the Council highlighted the following points:

·       There was no direct question about the position of an elected Mayor within the consultation. Many residents felt that in terms of local democracy that the establishment of a Mayor was a further layer of bureaucracy.

·       The sums of money available to Greater Lincolnshire as a result of the devolution proposal, as well as the documentation and aspirations of the proposed deal were not substantial enough to warrant a change in the way Greater Lincolnshire was governed.

Note:  Councillor Vanessa Smith arrived at the meeting.

·       Whilst the powers available to South Kesteven District Council remained intact despite the devolution proposal, it would have meant the loss of a direct link to Government due to having a new position of elected Mayor for Greater Lincolnshire.

The amended motion was seconded.

The following points were highlighted during debate:

·       Residents of South Kesteven had not taken part in a democratic vote on whether they supported or rejected the way in which they were governed.

·       South Kesteven District Council were not guaranteed a permanent seat at meetings under the proposed deal, as there were only 4 seats available to the 7 district, borough and city councils across Lincolnshire.

·       Last time a similar proposal was considered for devolution, there was a county-wide consultation and in every one of the 7 district, borough and city councils the majority of respondents rejected devolution and said ‘no’ to a directly elected Mayor. The strongest rejection came from South Kesteven.

·       It was unclear how much of the proposed funding would be received by South Kesteven.

·       If the devolution deal did not proceed, then the funding available would be lost to the Greater County of Lincolnshire.

·       As many residents as possible should be encouraged to express their views on the topic by taking part in the consultation. Although all residents would have the opportunity to engage with the consultation, it was thought that many would not understand what was happening to the governance of the County; i.e. adding a further layer of governance that was not required.

·       Any deal was a compromise, and it was possible that more money for the County, and therefore the District would be available in future years.

·       Placing a large amount of power within a directly elected Mayor undermined democracy.

·       Greater Lincolnshire was too large for one person to effectively govern; this model of governance was more suitable for a large city, or smaller area.

·       The question within the devolution consultation could have been more specific to the proposals on offer.

·       The devolution deal on offer was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 70.

The meeting closed at 1:53pm.