Kent County Council to ask government to be on the Devolution Priority Programme

Transcript

00:00Another morning in Maidstone business as usual roads gritted by the County Council and litter cleared by the borough

00:07But this is set to change soon fewer joined-up administrations could be taking charge

00:14Last month the government told local authorities about the change and today Kent County Council has confirmed

00:20They want to be on the priority list

00:23Supporters say devolution will provide better value to taxpayers

00:30But at a protest this morning

00:32Concerns were raised about its speed

00:34We've got this situation where the white paper was released in mid-December

00:37And we're making a decision in early January to sign up to something with no clarity on what it actually is

00:43We've had 25 days to make a decision to sign up to a priority program

00:47Devolution plans will see KCC asking Whitehall for permission to postpone the elections plan this year

00:53That'll mean the council as it currently stands will remain as it is until devolution is complete

01:00We have to actually discuss the role of the cancellation of the elections in May

01:04Even though that would be to the detriment of myself who was only just elected just over a month ago

01:09I would be quite happy to stand again in May because that's how democracy works

01:13The people should have the right to de-elect someone if they're not doing a good job

01:17And I would like to think I'm doing a good enough job to be re-elected. Now. This is County Hall

01:22It's where KCC councillors sit. They're the upper tier administration for the county

01:28But below them there are 12 lower tier district and borough councils. Then there's also Medway, which is a unitary authority

01:35It's a mix of both all under one house now under devolution plans

01:41It would see all 14 of those local administrations abolished replaced by what we think would be three

01:49Larger unitary authorities for the whole of Kent and Medway and a mayor sitting above them

01:54What the local person will see is it's harder to get in touch with anybody harder to get their voice heard

02:00Harder to get their communities voice heard

02:02This is a way of just blanking out the population because they keep doing things that the powers that be don't like

02:07Devolution plans were discussed by full council today

02:10There were concerns raised but a final decision was made by cabinet in the afternoon

02:16You will see the opportunity for us in Kent to shape much more about what happens on a whole number of big issues

02:23one good example is the

02:26Is transport both in terms of road and rail and that's a new development to have an ability to join those things up?

02:34Much more also to join up public services

02:37I think we all want to see that the Kent pound is spent better that we get better and more joined up

02:44Services the County Council has been around in some form since the end of the 1800s

02:49Today a clear signal that the administration will likely be abolished by the end of the decade