CCN Statement: General Election 2017

Cllr Paul Carter, CCN chairman, said:

CCN looks forward to working with the incoming Administration following Thursdays result. The reappointment of Sajid Javid, and other key Ministers, provides continuity, allowing us to continue our close working relationships and drive forward key policies to improve the lives of county residents.

With the Conservatives falling short of an overall majority, next weeks Queen Speech will be important in providing some clarity over the direction of local government policy.

We are ready and willing to be strategic partners for Government, offering the stability needed in local communities and the solutions to key domestic issues for an administration that will be pre-occupied with Brexit.

Over the coming weeks, CCN will ask for clarity over the future of business rates retention, and most importantly, a cast iron guarantee to deliver a fair and sustainable funding formula for local government, including for our local schools. At the same time, we cannot allow recent debates to deter efforts to place the social care system on a more sustainable footing, with county authorities working closely with Whitehall to actively shape the forthcoming Green Paper.

Counties already represent 41% of our economy, but in the face of Brexit, we must do more to tackle the underlying challenges of an uneven economy which is holding county areas back. Devolution through a place-based industrial strategy can equip counties with the necessary tools to improve our internationally weak productivity levels, upskill our workforce and support business growth, while reforms to housing, and a greater role for counties, could help unlock the current logjams in building new homes and providing vital local infrastructure.