“Alongside my colleagues, every councillor and every member of the public I have spoken to, I am struggling with this whole process – the upheaval, the rush, the cost, and some of the poorly thought-through decisions from Government.”

Cllr. Denise Bickley

Last week, Devon County Council’s Cabinet considered the proposed warding arrangements for the new unitary authorities as part of the Government’s plans for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

Alongside my colleagues, every councillor and every member of the public I have spoken to, I am struggling with this whole process – the upheaval, the rush, the cost, and some of the poorly thought-through decisions from Government.

I am not against LGR in principle.

There may be benefits to doing things differently.

But it needs to be carefully planned and designed around the communities it is intended to serve.

I simply do not believe this process is allowing enough time for that.

The proposed warding arrangements are a good example.

Here in Sidmouth, the proposal would divide our area between Sidmouth Town, with one unitary councillor, and Sidmouth Rural, Sidbury and Newton Poppleford and Harpford, with three unitary councillors.

That is four unitary councillors covering an area which currently has one Devon County Councillor alongside seven East Devon District Councillors.

Newton Poppleford and Harpford currently fall within a different County Council division, represented by Cllr Jess Bailey.

So the proposals change not just the number of councillors, but the communities being represented together.

Good local government is not simply about drawing lines on a map.

It is about whether boundaries make sense to residents, reflect established communities and provide effective local representation.

But for me, there is an even more important issue: we must not allow LGR to disrupt the progress we are making for Devon’s children and families.

The last 15 months have allowed me to get deeply involved in assisting the transformation of our services in SEND.

I am confident that, in an incredibly difficult national picture, we are making positive progress according to all our performance indicators and the Department for Education advisers we work closely with.

But that progress is not yet fully embedded.

Could I say every parent is feeling the difference yet?

Of course not.

SEND is complex, involving education, health, social care and other services, and sustainably changing outcomes takes time and enormous group effort.

I refer back to the report of the Government’s own Children’s Commissioner, Nigel Richardson, who warned that breaking up Devon’s existing children’s services arrangements could risk stopping improvement in its tracks, or even reversing progress.

That could hardly be clearer.

We must not allow arbitrary administrative boundaries to get in the way of positive outcomes for children.

I believe there could be benefits from reorganising local government – but only if we do it properly.

Instead, we are being asked to proceed at extraordinary speed, whether or not we believe the Government’s plan will deliver the positive outcomes it expects.

We have no realistic option but to engage with the process.

But that does not mean we have to back it blindly when we fear it is dangerous.

Cabinet therefore decided to note, but not endorse, the response on the interim warding arrangements, because of the democratic deficit we believe these proposals create.

We thanked officers across all Devon’s current councils for the huge amount of work they have undertaken under immense pressure and within ridiculous timescales.

Whatever happens with LGR, we must protect the progress being made in Children’s Services, protect and nurture the relationships that are strengthening, and make sure organisational change does not come at the expense of our children, families, and communities.