Suffolk's Conservative MP's James Cartlidge, Nick Timothy and Patrick Spencer have met with Suffolk County Council to discuss devolution
Suffolk's Conservative MP's have met with leaders from Suffolk County Council to discuss the county's next steps regarding devolution.
Nick Timothy, MP for West Suffolk, James Cartlidge, South Suffolk, and Patrick Spencer, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, met for talks with Conservative council leader Matthew Hicks and newly appointed cabinet member Richard Rout.
Mr Rout has joined Suffolk County Council's cabinet and will serve as the cabinet member for Devolution and Local Government Reform as it was confirmed earlier this month that this year's local elections have been postponed.
While it has been confirmed that Suffolk's six district, borough and county councils will be disbanded, it is not yet clear what or how many councils will replace them, leaving residents unclear on what the next steps are.
Mr Spencer said: “People living and working in Suffolk deserve high quality local service provision.
"Devolution should therefore be an opportunity to think about ow we can improve public services, make them more efficient, and invest in expanding access.
“Whilst I have every confidence in Cllr Richard Rout as the newly appointed cabinet member for devolution, I want to be absolutely clear that we must safeguard the delivery of the high-quality public services that our residents and communities need and deserve.
"Any devolution deal must be a fair deal for the people of Suffolk, and not an opportunity for Westminster to squeeze money out of our council. Suffolk’s residents and communities must be at the heart of any decision making and I would strongly encourage everyone to have their say as part of this important consultation.”
Mr Cartlidge said: "My priority is to ensure that devolution and local government reform actually delivers in practice for people in Suffolk. A particular concern is that any money saved from local government reorganisation must be spent in Suffolk and not hoovered up by the Chancellor.
"It’s been a really positive meeting Suffolk County Council leadership with my neighbouring MPs and I look forward to engaging directly with local communities in the weeks ahead.”
Mr Timothy echoed the words of his colleagues saying: "There are opportunities in local government reform but the danger with the Government’s plan is that power will be taken further away from local residents, not brought closer to home.
“We need councils that respond to the needs of local areas. Money saved through this reorganisation in Suffolk must stay in Suffolk — and be spent on high-quality services for local people.
“I am really keen that we use the change to empower parish councils, so local needs can be met more immediately by local people. After all, residents know best the changes they need in their areas.
“It was reassuring to hear that Suffolk County Council is keen to put the needs of local communities at the heart of the reform process, and I was delighted we were all singing from the same hymn sheet.”
Published by the East Anglian Daily Times.
