BCP Council leader, Cllr Millie Earl, hosted a Q&A on social media this afternoon answering the public’s questions about devolution.
The live stream precedes an ‘extraordinary’ full council meeting which will decide whether BCP creates a devolution arrangement with the Heart of Wessex – made up of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire councils – or with Hampshire, which includes Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.
Despite missing the government’s deadline for a decision, Cllr Earl paid a visit to Baroness Taylor of Stevenage who she said was “sympathetic to our situation in BCP” and “willing to give us an extra few days to allow for that democratic process to take place.”
Cllr Earl said: “It’s not easy because we’re not a very obvious functional economic area and it’s not obvious which one we should join in terms of Hampshire and Solent or the Heart of Wessex.”
She addressed issues with joining both sides, saying that Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire council areas are “very rural” and “aren’t particularly aligned with our urban interests.”
On the other side, Hampshire and Solent share infrastructure with BCP such as the A27, the M3 and rail networks. However, police and health services are done on a county basis.
Cllr Earl said that to join forces with Hampshire, “we would have to dismantle systems and then rebuild them on that Hampshire framework, which isn’t impossible but a huge task.”
Many viewers of the Q&A were curious as to why the council were not considering a BCP or Dorset-only devolution arrangement.
Cllr Earl explained that the possibility had been ruled out by the government as they required 1.5 million residents under the new strategic authorities.
She said: “Our choice is to look East or West to be on the Priority Programme or to do nothing. The do-nothing option is definitely on the table, but it does worry me.
“If we’re not involved in devolution, the government white paper has been clear that it will force us into an option that they see as fit.
“I’m not particularly keen on that. I think we, as an area, need to have an open debate in this so we can come to a decision.
“However, our decision may be that we don’t want to be involved and we don’t feel that devolution meets the needs of our residents so we would rather the government come and force us into it.”
The decision will be made tomorrow evening at the full council meeting.
Sexually transmitted infections and stigma on the rise