Scimitar - thoughts on number 6?
It reads as if everything stays the same apart from transport - is there a real purpose to all this then apart from chesterfield getting a lot of money and the transport change?
1. Devolution mans that local decision makers will be given extra powers and responsibilities that are currently held by ministers and civil servants in London. These are different to the everyday powers local councils have.
2. Our councillors voted at a meeting in April that Chesterfield should be a full member of the Sheffield City Region devolution deal and a non-constituent member of the North Midlands Combined Authority area.
3. Sheffield City Region has agreed a deal with the Government which would allow Chesterfield access to £900 million of funding over the next 30 years along with £484 million over five years.
The North Midlands Combined Authority has no devolution deal agreed.
4. Chesterfield is not leaving Derbyshire – no decision will change the borough’s boundaries. Chesterfield will remain a part of Derbyshire We will not become part of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Nottingham or Nottinghamshire.
5. All Chesterfield Borough Council services will stay exactly as they are and no other council will be able to dictate how they are run. This includes day-to-day council house decisions, as well as services like sports centres, parks and open spaces, collecting rubbish and cleaning the streets.
6. Derbyshire County Council services for Chesterfield residents – including schools, social care and libraries - will also stay the same, except for some public transport powers. The devolution deal will mean that public transport services are integrated across administrative boundaries to better meet the needs of local people. Derbyshire County Council will remain responsible for highways maintenance in Chesterfield.7. There is no Derbyshire option to get devolution powers. The Government has ruled out Derbyshire receiving devolved powers on its own.
8. We are not merging with Sheffield City Council – they will not have control over the services we currently provide
9. The Government will only hand over the full range of devolved powers, including housing, some transport powers, skills and training and business support, if they are run by a combined authority and an elected mayor. The elected mayor for the region will have responsibility for the powers devolved from London to the local area.
10. The devolution deal would not affect Chesterfield’s mayor who carries out a civic rather than a political role.
11. Residents have already had the opportunity to take part in consultations on the issue of devolution. The public was encouraged to take part through public meetings, the local media, e-bulletins to the business, community and voluntary sectors, and through websites and social media.
12. The consultation runs from 1 July to 12 August. For more information, visit
www.sheffieldcityregiondevolution.org.uk