Dorset Council devolution deal plan vague, councillors say

Plans for a council to negotiate with its neighbours on a devolution bid are lacking detail, councillors have said.

Dorset Council's cabinet asked members to back further talks for a joint devolution proposal following preliminary discussions.

Lib Dem leader Nick Ireland described a report to councillors as having "a miasma of vagueness" after it failed to name the potential devolution partners.

Despite criticism, members backed the talks, with 57 for and six against.

Devolution involves the transfer of statutory powers and funding from national to local government.

Speaking at October's full council meeting, Mr Ireland said: "There are no specifics beyond saying that Dorset is speaking to unidentified unitary councils."

He said he feared Dorset could end up doing deals with dissimilar places like Swindon, Bath or North East Somerset, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

"I can only imagine the bun fight between Wimborne, Wellington, Warminster and even Weston-super-Mare," he said.

"None of this guarantees any money and it doesn't get rid of competitive bidding.

"What is really needed is the ability to manage a single pot of money with maximum flexibility and without the intervention of government."

Cabinet member Simon Gibson acknowledged the comments about vagueness, but said there was a need for Dorset Council to enter negotiations in an open-minded way.

"As responsible leadership we have to take opportunities which exist today," he said.

In July, council leader Spencer Flower said he had spoken to the leaders of number of other councils about the potential for joint working on devolution.

The report said the council aspired to "work with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership to bid for a county deal agreement".

But it added it was "prudent" to engage in discussions with "all other councils within the immediate vicinity".

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