Hampshire County Council Cabinet Meeting

All Members were present and no apologies were noted.

Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in any matter considered at the meeting they must declare that interest at the time of the relevant debate and, having regard to the circumstances described in Part 3, Paragraph 1.5 of the County Council's Members' Code of Conduct, leave the meeting while the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with Paragraph 1.6 of the Code. Furthermore Members were mindful that where they believed they had a Personal interest in a matter being considered at the meeting they considered whether such interest should be declared, and having regard to Part 5, Paragraph 5 of the Code, considered whether it was appropriate to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed, save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with the Code.

The following Councillors declared a personal interest in item 5 on the agenda, English Devolution White Paper, as members of a local district or borough council: Nick Adams King as a member of Test Valley Borough Council, Liz Fairhurst as a member of Havant Borough Council, Steve Forster as a member of Hart District Council, Zoe Huggins as a member of Gosport Borough Council, Kirsty North as a member of Test Valley Borough Council, and Jan Warwick as a member of Winchester City Council.

None.

None.

Cabinet considered a report of the Director of Hampshire 2050 on the implications and opportunities for the County Council in response to the English Devolution White Paper and subsequent confirmations from the Minister of State.  The report recommended the County Council seek to join the Government’s Devolution Priority Programme to unlock significant benefits associated with devolution as quickly as possible for the area and, as a consequence of joining, request a 12 month delay to the County Council elections and commit to developing proposals for unitary councils across the area.

It was noted that the full Council had considered the proposals at an extraordinary meeting the previous day, and agreed a revised recommendation 5, as below:

The County Council confirms its commitment to developing proposals for unitary councils across the area to be included in the proposed combined authority for the Solent and Hampshire area.

The Chairman of the County Council had subsequently written to the Chairman of Cabinet confirming the Council’s recommendations and the letter had been published with the agenda papers.

The Chairman of Cabinet began by thanking officers for the briefings and information provided since the publication of the White Paper to enable well informed decision-making, both at Council and Cabinet.

Cabinet reflected on the high quality and wide-ranging debate held at Council the previous day, highlighting a number of key benefits of devolution.  It would bring wide-ranging strategic leadership, particularly in areas like transport, bus franchising and partnerships with national highways. It would enable better environmental and climate strategies, including flood risk management and data monitoring across the region.

Devolution would enhance existing partnerships and create new opportunities for collaboration in many areas; including offering the potential to better integrate NHS services with social care, benefiting the most vulnerable residents, and improving the health and wellbeing of people, promoting healthy populations and active travel.

It would benefit businesses and support economic growth, providing opportunities for post-16 education, skills, and employment and help tackle inequalities and deprivation.

It was accepted that the capacity of officers and elected members to manage the programme of change and deliver devolution necessitated a delay to the Council’s planned elections for May 2025.  Effective communication with residents would be crucial and clear and consistent information from Government was required to ensure residents were well informed throughout the process.

Cabinet recognised the challenges around local government reorganisation, including concerns about geographies, boundaries and non-parished areas, the pace of change and potential disruption to service delivery, financial risk and impact on staff. 

On balance, Cabinet expressed a need for a mindset of the opportunities within the challenges to ensure the County Council was in the best position to continue to provide excellent services to its residents and benefit from additional powers afforded by devolution, and on that basis agreed the revised recommendations, as set out in the letter from the Chairman of the County Council dated 9 January 2025 and attached to the report. A Decision Record is attached to these minutes.

RESOLVED:

Cabinet agrees that:

a)    The County Council is committed to the creation of a Combined Authority across the wider region incorporating Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council, in accordance with the expression of interest submitted to the Deputy Prime Minister on 30 August 2024.

b)    The County Council will request to be included in the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) as a fast track to delivering devolution for our area.

c)    The County Council confirms its commitment to developing proposals for unitary councils across the area to be included in the proposed combined authority for the Solent and Hampshire area.

d)    As a consequence of joining the Devolution Priority Programme the County Council will request to Government a 12 month postponement of the County Council elections due to take place in May 2025 to provide a necessary stable platform on which devolution proposals can progress at pace in 2025 to ensure the benefits of devolution for the area are realised as quickly as possible.