Paul Arnott: It was a privilege to sign the convenant

A couple of weeks ago East Devon held a double celebration at its Blackdown House HQ, meant to happen in June but postponed due to the sudden calling of the general election. In one part of the afternoon, I was privileged on behalf of the people of East Devon to co-sign the Veteran’s Charter with Major Mark Latham RM. This had been the idea of Cllr Vicky Johns from Ottery St Mary, who comes from a forces’ family

The charter commits your council to redouble its efforts on behalf of the nearly eight thousand ex forces personnel and reservists who live in the East Devon district. Most thrive, but for many there are challenges around both jobs and housing when they leave their service, as well as lifelong medical conditions. As a council we already do try and help with steering them in the right direction. Signing the charter now weaves this commitment into the fabric of everything we do.

The other part of the afternoon involved marking the 50th anniversary of East Devon District Council itself, which arose from a massive reorganisation of local government back in 1974. It was great to welcome back at least one councillor who’d been first elected back then which unusually made me feel very young.

The timing of it was ironic, because at this very moment local government where we live is undertaking another, slightly odd change. I am mindful that for most readers this is an epic yawn, so I’ll try to be brief. Essentially, if you live in East Devon and think about your council tax bill, that’ll help.

In very approximate terms, if you pay £2,300 Council Tax per year, roughly £80 is for your parish or town council, £100 for Fire and Rescue, about £160 for East Devon District, £260 for the Police, and by far the largest share, £1,700 to Devon County Council.

That huge chunk to the County Council covers big ticket items such as Adult and Young People’s Social Care, Highways (Potholes!!), Education, Libraries and local economic strategy to worry about. All of which is horribly underfunded from central government.

But as of last week, the government signed off on Devon County Council together with Torbay Council (both “unitary” authorities) forming a “Combined County Authority” (CCA). Technically, this makes no difference to the bodies listed two paragraphs back, but it becomes a joint endeavour which can draw down greater infrastructure funding from central government, plan more strategically with Homes England, and have a bigger say in the region’s transport arrangements, amongst other things.

It's all early days at the moment, and there is a measure of genuine surprise in the two major cities in Devon, both Labour-led, that the new government has rushed to rubber-stamp what was very much a Conservative idea. Plymouth in particular had pulled out of the CCA idea but it looks now very much that, having forlornly courted an unwilling Cornwall to join up with them, their own party is pushing them back into the CCA.

One clear advantage is that it staves off the potty idea of a Mayor for a totally unitary Devon. But with County Council elections looming in May, it’s all to play for on who will actually end up rolling all this out.