More key decision makers have added their names to a growing list of organisations backing Cumbria County Council's bid for a brand new local authority providing all council services across the county.
The council's bid document 'One Council, One Vision, One Voice' - which makes the case for a single, unitary authority for the whole of Cumbria - was submitted last month to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Now more organisations have written to the county council, publicly stating that they support the One Council, One Vision, One Voice bid for a new unitary authority.
St. Martin's College Principal, Christopher Carr, said: "I agree with the analysis in the document ['One Council, One Vision, One Voice'] of the challenges and opportunities facing Cumbria. I am, in particular, conscious of the need to reduce complexity in the structure and workings of local government, to devolve representation, power and responsibility to appropriate levels, to develop mechanisms for greater accountability and, above all, to enhance the delivery of services to local people and organisations. I therefore very much support the proposals which are aimed at implementing modernisation in this manner."
North Cumbria Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Chairman, Eric Urquhart, confirmed his Board's qualified support, saying:
"The opportunity for closer partnership working - our Trust and the Acute Trust providing services in South Cumbria - needs to be better developed as the delivery of healthcare is equally important as the commissioning of healthcare by the Primary Care Trust which is now established on a countywide basis."
Stagecoach North West's Managing Director, Christopher Bowles, said: "I am happy to confirm the support of Stagecoach for the county council's submission. Clearly the fact that the county is the existing transport and highway authority is a sound basis to continue our support. The division of related financial matters such as concessionary fares, local transport infrastructure and so on does not make sense in the current structure."
The bid's recognition of working with voluntary organisations and charities has also won favour. John Brown, Chief Executive of the Cumbria Deaf Association, said: "Over the years we have attempted to work with the district councils in Cumbria with varying degrees of success.we believe that [a unitary council for Cumbria] goes a long way towards addressing the crucial issues of a countywide management structure balanced by local accountability and services at a local level that are accessible and responsive."
Parish councils have reaffirmed their view through the Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) that "a unitary local government arrangement is what Cumbria needs", but have reserved judgement on whether to back the bid, instead calling for more work to be done on the set-up of Community Boards and how the unitary council would engage with parish councils.
In response to CALC's statement, Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "We welcome the parish councils' reaffirmation of their support for a unitary solution to local government in Cumbria and have taken note of the areas they'd like develop in the proposal. Our bid document already states that further detailed work would be carried out on how community boards engage with town and parish councils and has factored in the need for firm constitutional responsibilities laid out in a charter. We have already started this dialogue with CALC and with individual parish and town councils keen to work with us to make One Cumbria a reality. But a single council for the whole of Cumbria is the only viable way to meet CALC's firm preference for a unitary model of local government."
You can find more information on the proposed 'One Council for Cumbria' submission at the link below.
Notes for editors
Cumbria County Council's bid document also contains letters of support from:
Cumbria Primary Care Trust's Chair Maggie Chadwick and Chief Executive Sue Page; Stephen Dalton, Chief Executive of Cumbria Partnership NHS Trust; Michael Baxter, Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary; Cumbria Tourism's Executive Board; Ruth Bullen, Director of Area - Cumbria, Learning and Skills Council; Bryan Gray, Chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency; Rob Johnston, chief executive of the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the county council's strategic partner Amey; Andrew Mindenhall, director of the county council's ICT strategic partner; and John Tizard, group director of strategic partner Capita. The trustees of Voluntary Action Cumbria, the county's rural community council, has also confirmed its 'qualified support'.
ENDS
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One council - View the web-based guide on a potential switch to a unitary council.....