South Kesteven District Council leader Ashley Baxter predicts big change for ‘cluttered’ local political scene in Lincolnshire

The leader of South Kesteven District Council believes a major change of the county’s ‘cluttered’ local government scene is "inevitable" - as central government prepares to enact its devolution bill.

During a full council meeting on Thursday (November 21), Coun Ashley Baxter (Independent) shared his prediction that changes to the local government structure may follow once Labour's devolution bill is implemented.

The government approved the devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire in September, following delays caused by the General Election in July.

The deal is expected to bring an additional £24 million to the region and introduce an elected mayor to act as the link between the area and Westminster.

A devolution white paper from the government is expected in the coming weeks, outlining proposals for local authorities moving forward.

During Thursday's meeting, SKDC approved the establishment of a 'district joint committee' comprising the seven district councils in Lincolnshire, following the Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Deal and the creation of the Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined County Authority.

Although he criticised the fact that there isn't yet a constitution to regulate how the upper-tier councils—Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council, and North East Lincolnshire Council—would work together, Coun Baxter urged members to support the proposals.

"If we don’t agree to these terms and conditions, we are effectively ruling ourselves out of the process," he said.

The Independent leader went on to explain that the upper-tier councils would act as constituent members on the combined authority, with three representatives each, while district councils would be classed as non-constituent members, with four representatives in total across all seven authorities.

"The way that Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, and North Lincolnshire Council work together has to be regulated by constitution but, so far, we haven't seen the constitution," he told the local democracy reporting service.

"I understand there have been elections, I understand that officers are working really hard to get it out but, at the district, we are operating without any knowledge of how that's going to go.

"We have been assured that the issues we have raised have been put into the new constitution, but we don't know that for sure until we see the new constitution."

Looking ahead, Coun Baxter shared his predictions for how the local government landscape could change once the devolution bill is enforced, suggesting that more councils could join together in a similar way to the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership, which includes East Lindsey District Council, Boston Borough Council, and South Holland District Council, all working under one chief executive.

He continued: "Next week, the devolution bill will come into force, and that will enable all the other cogs to start turning. But once they have established this new tier of local government, they will look at the rest of how local government works in Lincolnshire and it does look cluttered.

"I have seen some correspondence from the government saying that local government reorganisation is on its way, and that will start the debate.

"There are three authorities that are working together on the East Coast at the moment, and that might continue, or they might find another way to deal with it.

"We are the biggest of the district councils in Lincolnshire and we are looking at where the best fit for us would be.

"I don't need to say any more about that at the moment because it's all hypothetical, but we could end up working with colleagues on the East Coast, Rutland, or North Kesteven. There are loads of combinations, and it would be interesting to see how it falls."

In response to his concerns, Coun Martin Hill (Conservative), leader of Lincolnshire County Council, stated: “The devolution deal we’ve agreed with government doesn’t include any local government reorganisation of existing councils.

"We’re expecting a devolution white paper from the government in the coming weeks which will outline their proposals for local authorities moving forward.

"When this comes out, we’ll work with our district council colleagues to understand what the implications are for Lincolnshire, continuing our focus on campaigning for a fairer government funding deal for councils across the whole county.”

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