Cabinet appointed as Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister: CCN responds

Andy Burnham has begun appointing his cabinet after he officially became Prime Minister yesterday.

Angela Rayner returns as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whilst Lucy Powell was named Education Secretary and Yvette Cooper was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Yesterday the County Councils Network (CCN) published its Five Point Plan for National Renewal - setting out the priorities of county and unitary councils to the new cabinet and Prime Minister.

Below, the County Councils Network responds to the announcements.

Cllr Lucy Nethsingha, Vice-Chair of the County Councils Network, said:

“The County Councils Network (CCN) would like to congratulate Angela Rayner on her re-appointment as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Loca lGovernment.

“She will be handed the task of making Andy Burnham’s devolution aspirations a reality. Mr Burnham has said he wants to rebalance the economy, with good growth in every postcode. For this to become a reality then county areas must be empowered though devolution that is more comprehensive and ambitious. That must mean prioritising agreements for the areas that are currently without a devolution deal, offering all counties powers on par with cities, and enhancing the economic firepower of county and unitary councils.

“Having been the Secretary of State who set in train the programme of reorganisation, she will recognise this is the biggest change those councils will have in a generation. CCN supports reform, but many of the recent decisions have dramatically departed from the original aims and criteria she set out at the beginning of this process.

“Her re-appointment presents the opportunity for a reset. The government must listen to those county councils who have serious concerns over recently selected proposals that go against the criteria, reviewing those decisions and re-assessing whether the timescales remain deliverable given the complexity now involved. Only those proposals that can demonstrate financial sustainability, protect local services, and act as a foundation for devolution should be implemented.

“The next few years also remain financially challenging for county and unitary councils, not least due to the redistributive impact of the Fair Funding Review 2.0. A fresh injection of funding for local authorities will be necessary to protect local services in rural areas and to allow councils to invest in growing their economies.”

Cllr Bill Revans, SEND Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“We congratulate Lucy Powell on becoming Secretary of State for Education. She is appointed at a time of generational reform in two pivotal areas for local government: children’s social care and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Services.

“The reforms to children’s services currently underway are a genuine step in the right direction. The current children’s placement market is dysfunctional and councils are on course to be spending £12bn a year on children in care by 2030 so a government intention to intervene in the market is important. With a change in administration new ministers must drive forward much needed change, including increasing investment in early intervention so local authorities can rebalance their services towards prevention.

“The new Education Secretary should also proceed with the SEND reforms as outlined in March. The previous administration grasped the nettle on a generational issue that had been ducked for too long and set out comprehensive– and correct – reforms to the system. New ministers must resist the temptation to cherry pick the ‘easiest’ reforms and drop the more difficult ones – and see reform through in its totality.

“The system is not working for young people and local authorities alike and these reforms are the best chance to change that. Such is the imperative to get things right, there could be the need for more resource for both councils and schools, and new ministers should keep this option open."

Cllr Glen Sanderson, Adult Social Care Spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said:

“We congratulate Yvette Cooper on becoming the Secretary of State at the Department for Health and Social Care. Adult social care remains the biggest budgetary pressure for many local authorities, and county and rural unitary councils arguably face the biggest challenge in delivering services in demographically ageing and geographically complex places.

“Baroness Casey’s Independent Commission represents a golden opportunity to not only diagnose the problems with the system but to set out genuine solutions, rather than adopt previous government approaches and simply apply sticking plasters. Whatever change is proposed, councils have a proud track record of delivering social care and driving through complex reform so it must remain a locally-led service.

“The fact that Andy Burnham recognised the need to fix the ‘broken’ care system is very encouraging. We ask the government to continue backing the Casey Commission and its commitment to cross-party working, and to ensure funding settlements enable councils to meet the growing demand for care and cover rising costs for employers in the meantime.”

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