The Case for
Cornwall
to create a sustainable
Cornwall
A prosperous Cornwall that is
resilient and resourceful.
A place where communities are
strong and where the most
vulnerable are protected.
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Why we’re making the case for Cornwall
The total public sector budget for Cornwall is £4.3 billion pa…
…but most spending decisions are made or controlled by central
government.
Locally budgets are under strain and services are being reduced…
…but with more joined up national and local spending we could
reduce duplication and make better use of the money available.
Cornwall has lots of exciting opportunities…
…but we don’t always have the powers to maximise them.
www.cornwall.gov.uk
…and the concerns you have raised
• Affordable decent housing
• Wage levels and the cost of living
• Public transport
• Job prospects
• Road repairs
• Care for the elderly
Cornwall Council Residents Survey 2014
www.cornwall.gov.uk
The Government is open to proposals
“And you, the people who live and work in
the south-west, know far better than I do
what’s right for your local area...
“I am convinced that if we
have more local discretion –
more decisions made and
money spent at the local
level – we’ll get better
outcomes.”
David Cameron
George Osborne
22 May 2015
“This is a revolution in the
way we govern England.
It’s time for you to take
control of your own affairs.”
George Osborne
14 May 2015
www.cornwall.gov.uk
It’s already happening elsewhere!
27 areas have already achieved some form of
devolved powers
Newcastle
Sunderland and South Tyneside
Preston, South Ribble & Lancashire
Tees Valley
Leeds
Hull
Liverpool
Greater Manchester
Sheffield
Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire
Black Country
Nottingham
Greater Birmingham
Leicester & Leicestershire
Coventry and Warwickshire
Norwich
Thames Valley Berkshire
Greater Cambridge
Oxford & Oxfordshire
Greater
Greater Ipswich
London
Bristol
Southend on Sea
Swindon and Wiltshire
Southampton & Portsmouth
Brighton
Plymouth & SW Peninsula
www.cornwall.gov.uk
So why not Cornwall?
Cornwall Council and its
partners are committed
to working together to
create a more
prosperous Cornwall that
is more resilient and
resourceful.
www.cornwall.gov.uk
We have already started to build our case
January 2015
Draft Case for Cornwall agreed by Council
Cross party Member Working Group established
March 2015
Case for Cornwall published - copies sent to local and national political groups
Media campaign launched - newspapers, TV and radio, social media, photo
campaign, libraries and one stop shops and online survey
May 2015
Informal meetings with civil servants
Public consultation events
Discussion with partners
June 2015
Case for Cornwall updated to reflect feedback received
July 2015
Final Case for Cornwall considered by Council
Submission to government
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Housing - creating the right conditions to build
more affordable homes, in the right places, to
meet the needs of local people
What we’re asking for
• A share of stamp duty to
reinvest in affordable
housing
• Suitable government
owned land and powers
• Ability to control second
homes via planning or levy
• Power to define affordable
local housing and speed up
regeneration
• Retain right to buy receipts
to invest in Cornwall
Benefits
• Housing market that supports local need
• More affordable housing built where it is needed
• More sustainable communities
• Ability to tailor local solutions and housing
development to meet specific local need
• Longer term and more secure partnerships with
housing providers
Risks
• Liabilities with some of the
government owned land – but
benefits outweighs the risks
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Transport - an integrated and improved public
transport system that supports the employment,
education and wellbeing of local people
What we’re asking for
• Responsibility for franchising
bus services
• Local control of longer term
funding for local bus transport
• Power to provide a fully
integrated and more effective
rural transport network
Benefits
• More frequent services with more capacity,
combined routes, timetabling and tickets
• More security for bus operators and
services
• A more cost effective system with better
customer satisfaction and higher usage
• More certainty over funding for services
Risks
• Achieving the support of bus
operators
• However, the biggest risk is not
taking any action and seeing bus
services reduce further
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Property - a joint approach to public land and
buildings to make best use of assets and
improve service delivery
What we’re asking for
• To keep and reinvest money from
selling public sector buildings locally
• To manage public sector properties
jointly
• Police buildings in Cornwall to be
under the control of Cornwall’s police
service
Benefits
• Service improvements by locating
Council and partner organisations
together
• Making the best use of the buildings
the Council and partners collectively
own
• Reinvestment from selling buildings
we no longer need
Risks
• All partners need to be signed up to pooling
the proceeds from property sales
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Planning, infrastructure, energy and environment
- greater local influence over planning and regulations
to support the local economy and environment
What we’re asking for
• More local control of the planning system
• More local control over investment in flood
defence
• Greater local control over heritage assets
• Influence over development of the electrical
grid network
• Local discretion over energy targets
• Investment in geothermal energy
Benefits
• A planning system that supports
Cornwall’s ambitions, local
communities and economic
growth
• Improved energy efficiency
• More Cornish jobs in renewable
energy
• Up to £90m investment in
geothermal industries
Risks
• Seeking to work outside the national
planning policy framework may be difficult
to achieve
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Employment and skills - people of all ages in
Cornwall trained in skills that match current and
anticipated future employer demands
What we’re asking for
Local powers to direct skills funding for:
• Apprenticeship grants
• Further education funding for young adults and
adult skills budgets
• Careers education, information, advice and
guidance funding
The opportunity to work with Government to
design programmes to help people in Cornwall get
employment
Benefits
• Better access to training and
skills to enhance employment
opportunities
• A higher skilled workforce
and higher salaries
• Support the growth of key
industries by providing
workforce with the right skills
Risks
• Consensus needs to be achieved across public
and private stakeholders
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Health and social care - providing more personcentred and integrated care through joined up
health and social care systems and budgets
What we’re asking for
• Support to explore new ways of working
locally
• Freedom to develop a Cornwall
performance and planning regime
• Freedom to pilot local solutions with
cashable savings
• More powers over public health services
and budgets
Benefits
• Reduced demand and pressure on
services through prevention and
intervention
• Less people needing to visit A&E
and be admitted to hospital
• Joint services, lower costs and
better value for money
• Less duplication in back office
systems
Risks
• The funding still doesn’t meet the
growing demand for services in
Cornwall
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Funding - a financially sustainable Cornwall able
to decide how to use public sector funds to meet
local needs
What we’re asking for
• Five year funding certainty
• Local discretion over council tax
• A share of fuel duty to invest in road repairs
• A share of VAT generated through tourism
to reinvest locally
• A share of revenue where we take action
locally that saves the government money
Benefits
• The ability to plan longer term
• Resources can be used where
they’re most needed and provide
more value for money
• More local discretion about raising
funding
• More funding retained in Cornwall
to meet Cornwall’s needs
Risks
• New income is offset by cuts from
government grants elsewhere
www.cornwall.gov.uk
Case for Cornwall
Comments or suggestions please email:
policy@cornwall.gov.uk
Further information:
www.cornwall.gov.uk/standup
#standupforcornwall