Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence.

To record any interests on agenda matters.

(All Members of the Council have been granted a dispensation to allow them to speak and vote in any debate on any matter that related to devolution or Local Government reorganisation in Devon)

The Chair of the Council may be minded to allow requests using his constitutional discretion as Chair at this meeting.

Members of the public are asked to submit questions and/or statements by 5pm 3 clear working days in advance of the meeting as usual. You may register to speak without submitting a question and this must be done by 4pm the day before the meeting. Questions and/or statements received in advance may be answered as part of the debate at the meeting, but no written responses to questions will be provided. However, as per the constitution, there is to be no other business conducted at extraordinary council meetings, so if questions and/or statements are not in relation to the specific agenda item of this meeting the Chair will not permit the question. Questioners will be directed to the next regularly scheduled meeting of Council as appropriate.

Council will be aware of the stated intention from government to ‘simplify’ local government structures by requiring two-tier areas (and adjacent or smaller unitaries) to reorganise into unitary structures. Invitations for proposals for local government reorganisation have been sent to all Leaders of councils in areas affected, with the deadline for responses due later this year; before 28^th November 2025. However, a submission to government on our initial plan is required before 21^st March. Following confirmation of the intended timeline, the process for Devon sees the government indicating its intention to receive proposals by the 28^th November, to consult on viable options in early 2026 and then to make a final decision in summer 2026 on what the best form of local government for Devon should be.

This is a process that has not been initiated by the councils of Devon, nor its people. Our challenge now is to recognise the intent of central government and seek to secure the best possible outcome for our communities. Councils are more than just delivery arms or agents of central government. While there will be many views on the viability or sensibility of such enforced changes, our aim should be to seek that we retain, as far as is possible, some form of connection to local place, distinctiveness and identity within any new councils for Devon and, ultimately, that we keep the ‘local’ in local government.

It is recommended that the Council:

1.      Notes the importance of keeping the public informed on this process that central government has mandated of us

2.      Recognises the excellent collaboration across most of the councils in Devon and hopes that this spirit continues over the coming months with a view to effective partnership working and sharing the resource requirements of developing the full proposal

3.      Ensures that meaningful and substantial public engagement and consultation takes place before the submission of any proposal in November

4.      Supports the submission to government of an initial plan for the 21^st March deadline outlining the current proposal, which would potentially see an enlarged Plymouth City area with the remaining county geography split in two – achieving the government’s requirement of serving approximately 500k population in these two new areas. Such a proposal would see Devon’s existing 11 councils reduced to 3; reported locally as the 1,5,4 proposal  

5.      Tasks the Leader and Chief Executive with ensuring the best possible submission is presented to government and that any revisions or amendments continue to reflect the districts’ best interests; and

6.      Writes immediately to Devon County Council to request that they consider submitting this majority-supported proposal as one of the options they intend to look at in future, seeking to work with the new administration after May’s elections to achieve better alignment between the efforts of all councils in Devon as we work up full and final proposals.