A special council meeting has been called to discuss proposals for a shake up of Sussex councils.
The council said: “Brighton and Hove City Council will hold a special council meeting on Wednesday 24 September at 6.30pm to allow all councillors to debate the council’s proposed submission to government on proposals for local government reorganisation.
“Local government reorganisation is a government-led process that invites proposals to create unitary councils which deliver all council services in one place, rather than across two tiers of local government which currently exist in some places in the form of county, district and borough councils.
“The establishment of new unitary councils will replace the two-tier system in England, including in Sussex.
“Brighton and Hove City Council is already a unitary authority. While Brighton and Hove City Council is not required to change, the wider Sussex context means it has been invited to submit its proposals for the arrangements which will best serve residents and support the future governance of Sussex.
“The special council meeting is a key part of its local decision-making process to give all elected councillors the chance to debate the proposals in full and ensure that the views of local communities are reflected in the meeting.
“The council meeting takes place ahead of the cabinet meeting on Thursday 25 September when cabinet members will consider and determine the proposal to be submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
“The council has placed strong emphasis on listening to its residents, through community meetings, drop-in sessions and ongoing engagement with other authorities.
“Regular discussions through overview and scrutiny committees have further strengthened the engagement process and a further overview and scrutiny session is planned for Monday 22 September.”
If Brighton and Hove is “not required to change”, being a unitary authority already, why the big fuss? Step away from the madness and let’s focus on getting Brighton and Hove up to scratch and the best it can be. if that’s not an ambitious enough concept for Ms Sankey, she is surplus to requirements in her current role and should resign. Brighton and Hove does not exist to be her political springboard and she has done the city no favours so far. Furthermore her original sponsor could be in big trouble come October, so she may wish to distance herself.
It’s familiar ground, so I won’t go into detail again; Brighton & Hove might already be a unitary, but Sussex doesn’t exist in isolation. If East and West reorganise, it changes how we link up in terms of transport, health, housing, and economic planning. That’s why the council needs a clear position; otherwise, BHCC risks having decisions made over its head.
But BHCC already has decisions made over its head by Central Government, multiple health boards, PCC, fire brigade, Secamb etc. It is no wonder that residents feel marginalised and ignored. Just look at the fiasco being played out with the Wellsbourne GP outsourcing. What we are desperately in need of is strong leadership fighting for what is best for this city and the people that the Council are supposed to represent. What we don’t need are crawling, aspiring politicians who are looking at clamouring to get their snouts in the trough and seem not to act out of civic duty and pride. I can’t envisage any busses being named in honour of the current leader!
True, Whitehall and quangos already make plenty of decisions over our heads, which is exactly why it matters that Brighton & Hove has a clear voice in this process. If Sussex reorganises without us setting out our position, we’ll have even less say over the regional decisions that do affect us, and devolution brings that decision-making to Sussex, rather than London.
Fire brigade is run by a committee made up of West Sussex County Council and B&H CC
The new mayor of Sussex will have zero power over B&H CC for its day to day functions. And the same for whatever new councils are created.
The Leader & Cabinet model does what you seem to want – strong leadership over the city council. The strongest model – an executive mayor of the city – is no longer possible as a new law going through parliament will end that option.
It’s EAST Sussex not West
Oh I can. Having met Bella Sankey in person, I can honestly say I have never met anyone more passionate and devoted to their hometown. Bella Sankey is fair, compassionate and extremely clever.
…and obviously good at spin. I fail to see much progress under the current administration and I don’t think that I am alone in this. Services seem to be diminishing whilst bills are rising. To be fair, there are some green shoots appearing but I think the radical shake-up of management hasn’t materialised. We need to get back to value for money and end the cycle of half-baked ideas and political posturing. Local government should be about the basics not ideology.
No statues, streets or buses will there be dedicated to Ms Sankey and her rule. Of that we can be sure.
Residents have made thir feelings clear in effected ares no need for a change to boundaries just zE Sussex Structure
Did ESCC finalise their proposal? I know it was due soon.
I do not trust the labour government at all and wander what the real motive is behind the council changes and allocation of Mayors. I have just found about the Fabian society and their aims to get rid of nation states as one of their left wing ideologies. Well its happening. By the way, many judges quango bosses and the bank of England heads are in the Fabian society. Inform yourselves, open your eyes and resist the dismantling of the English way of life.
The legal framework was set up by the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 (a Conservative-era reform), with routes like local referendums and council consents, hardly a secret plot.
The Fabian Society is a long-standing, openly published Labour-aligned think tank advocating gradual, democratic reform. Its stated aims talk about equality, public service, democracy and multilateral cooperation – not abolishing nation states. Fabianism is explicitly gradualist, not revolutionary. Most political parties have one of these.
The Bank of England publicly lists its leadership; nothing there supports what you’re alleging.
More dribble on Facebook I would suggest maybe stop believing everything you read online and do some critical thinking…
Labour is a paracite
Be nice if Bella let all the residents in the coastal towns exactly what benefits there are to be guy becoming part of BHCC.
We have been waiting since the first announcement in July for details of any sort – none have been forthcoming
It would be nice if you actually took the time to sit down and discuss Ian; once again, I’m going to point out that it’s been mentioned that you haven’t been forthcoming with arranging a meeting with BHCC. It’s a level of disingenuous, bad-faith, inflammatory rhetoric that I would expect from Lyons. Especially since there are some obvious potential benefits, which I’ve outlined several times in articles you’ve commented on, and for the sake of balance, benefits to sticking with ESCC as an alternative.
Angela Rayner will be Applying for a Job Next week.