Government scraps proposed devolution deal for Suffolk that was worth £500 million over 30 years

The Government has scrapped the proposed devolution deal for Suffolk that would have brought in more than £500 million to the county over 30 years.

Leader of Suffolk County Council, Cllr Matthew Hicks, said it felt like ‘a real slap in the face for Suffolk from a Government that won’t listen to what local people are saying’.

The additional funding – which would come with new local decision-making powers over areas including housing, transport, adult education and regeneration – is no longer being offered to Suffolk.

Suffolk County Council said the deal would mean local people who know and love Suffolk would be empowered to make more decisions about the county’s future, rather than people in Whitehall.

Key aspects of the proposed in-principle devolution deal included:

•Control of a new investment fund worth £480 million over the next 30 years;

•Local control of the adult education budget each year (worth £9.4 million in 2025/26);

•£5.8 million one-off funding to prepare brownfield sites for development;

•Multi-year transport funding plus an additional £500,000 over two years to finalise Suffolk’s Local Transport Plan;

•The leader of Suffolk County Council would be directly elected by the people of Suffolk – rather than by county councillors.

Most people who responded to an independent survey, run by Ipsos, were in favour of the proposed deal: 63 per cent of people supported or strongly supported it while seven per cent disagreed, and 21 per cent of people were unsure.

In a separate but linked poll run by Suffolk County Council, 49 per cent of people who responded supported or strongly supported the deal, whilst 40 per cent did not and 11 per cent were unsure.

Suffolk County Councillors were expected to vote on the deal after the General Election in July.

Cllr Hicks said: “First, they waved through the Sunnica application, showing little regard for the communities affected. Then, they scrapped the winter fuel payments, which will adversely affect older people living in rural areas.

“Now, our proposed devolution deal – which has widespread public support – is in the bin.

“Governments of any colour should be pro devolution because councils know how best to serve local people.

“Local councillors have now been stripped of the opportunity to support or reject the proposed deal which is a sad day for democracy by any measure.”

Norfolk County Council has also announced that the Government has now informed the council that its in-principle devolution deal has been halted.

It would have brought more powers and funding to the county – including a £20 million per year investment fund for 30 years.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Devolution is central to the Government’s mission to economic growth, which we’ve set out plans to take power away from Westminster and into the hands of local leaders – who know their area best.

“This Government strongly believes that mayors should have a unique role, while council leaders must continue to focus on the delivery of the essential services.

“We want to see those two functions kept separate as this benefits the community and its people, which is why we will not be proceeding with the Single Local Authority mayoral deals proposed in Norfolk and Suffolk.

“We intend to continue discussions with both areas on alternative models for ambitious devolution.”

The Green, Lib Dem and Independent Group, the opposing group at SCC, said: “While true devolution is to be welcomed, the deal which was proposed - although a deal – was not a big deal, and with the county council having never fully debated or voted on the deal, discussed it with district and borough councils, or held a formal vote for the people of Suffolk, the whole thing was democratically flawed from the start.”

They said while it was right Westminster should hand many decision-making powers back to local government, they questioned why devolution needed to be dependent on having a single elected leader for Suffolk.

“Councils across Suffolk are variously run by Conservatives, Greens, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Independent coalitions and this might make it difficult for the county to reach political agreement,” they said. “The proposed elected leader model was a recipe for ‘winner takes all’ and not a platform for consensus.”

They added: “While there have been suggestions that this is a snub to Suffolk, councils of all tiers are open to true devolution, and we should see this as not the end of devolution for Suffolk, but perhaps a chance to explore a more inclusive model, one that could avoid duplication and potential future political stalemate.”

A joint statement issued on behalf of the Suffolk district and borough councils said: “The district and borough councils within Suffolk look forward to working with Suffolk County Council and the Government to develop a new devolution deal which will deliver for the whole of Suffolk.”

The statement was issued on behalf of Babergh District Council, East Suffolk District Council, Ipswich Borough Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and West Suffolk Council.