PRESS RELEASE : Mebyon Kernow briefing on “devolution deal” [January 2023]
The press release issued by Mebyon Kernow on 27 January 2023.
MK’s National Executive and elected councillors have produced the following briefing on the so-called “devolution deal” for Cornwall.
We are desperately disappointed at the content of the “devolution deal” published on 2nd December 2022. It does not include the transfer of far-reaching powers from Westminster to Cornwall as has happened in Wales and Scotland since 1999. The deal is simply a range of accommodations between central government and Cornwall’s unitary authority.
The consultation from the administration in Truro claims that “it’s a big deal for Cornwall.” It is not. The deal does reference Cornwall’s distinct heritage, culture and language, as well as the national minority status of the Cornish people, but it ignores Cornwall’s distinct constitutional position and treats Cornwall as a local government unit of England. Paragraph 19 even references the “Great South West alliance,” which shows that there is an unacceptable lack of respect for Cornish nationhood and territoriality, as well as the primacy of Cornwall as a geographical / political entity for proper devolution.
When the UK Government finally recognised the Cornish as a national minority (through the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities) in 2014, it pledged that the Cornish would be afforded the same status “as the UK’s other Celtic people, the Scots, the Welsh and the Irish.”
That commitment to parity with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom surely must include meaningful devolution for the nation of Cornwall, through the provision of a Cornish Parliament. MK’s full proposals, which we commend to the people of Cornwall, can be found in our policy document “Towards a Cornish Parliament / Troha Senedh a Gernow.”
It is the view of Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall that the proposals for “devolution” within the Levelling Up White Paper (and subsequent legislation) undermines and devalues the concept of devolution as previously understood.
However, our comments on the proposed “devolution deal” are as follows:
Devolution
The inadequacy of the deal is shown by paragraph 24 of the deal, which lists the functions that would be devolved. But only two are listed. These are (i) adult education and skills, and (ii) housing and planning.
In terms of adult education, it would mean decisions about an existing budget would be taken in Cornwall.
The reference to planning / housing functions is about the ability of the proposed “directly elected mayor” to “designate a Mayoral Development Area” and “set up a Mayoral Development Corporation.” But the mayor would “autonomously exercise” the power to create such an MDA / MDC, further undermining the democratic basis of planning in Cornwall.
Overall, it is clear that there is an almost total lack of devolution in the actual deal.
Funding
The deal does include promises of more money for Cornwall Council and, while additional funding for local government in Cornwall is to be welcomed, there is no need for such funding to be linked to a “devolution deal” and the imposition of a mayor. Such financial accommodations between central government and local councils is an established element of political life in the United Kingdom.
In terms of the deal, it includes a promise of a “Cornwall Investment Fund,” which would be worth £12million per annum for 30 years. But this funding is extremely limited in scope. It represents less than one percent of Cornwall Council’s annual budget, and it is half of what will be secured from a council tax surcharge on second homes (which will be allowed from 2024/25).
In addition to the “Cornwall Investment Fund,” funding in the deal includes: Mayoral capacity funding £250,000 (2023/24) and £500,000 (2024/25); a “Cornwall Innovation Programme” worth up to £10million over three years; Transport funding of £500,000 across 2023/24 and 2024/25; capital funding of £8.7million across 2023/24 and 2024/25 for construction of housing on brownfield land; capacity funding of £238,000 across 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 to support new housing; capital funding of up to £10million to “support the delivery of locally determined priorities in Cornwall, including housing and heritage-led regeneration …” and funding of £500,000 in 2023/24 to support Cornish distinctiveness, including the Cornish language.
It needs to be pointed out that this funding is still significantly less than the real-terms cuts in funding suffered by local government in Cornwall since 2010.
It is also significantly less than the monies lost to Cornwall, because the Shared Prosperity Fund is failing to match what would have been received from EU structural funds (as promised). Cornwall Council previously sought a “single pot” worth £700million over the next seven years, rather than the £142million being provided over a three-year period.
A directly elected mayor
Paragraph 31 states that the deal is dependent upon Cornwall Council agreeing to “adopt a directly elected mayor and cabinet executive governance model.”
MK does not support the imposition of a mayor on Cornwall’s unitary authority. This would be a retrograde step and further undermine local government / democracy following (i) the abolition of Cornwall’s six district councils / centralisation of local government in 2009, plus the (ii) further reduction in councillor numbers in 2021.
The disappointing scope of the proposed deal cannot in any way be seen as a justification for a change in governance of Cornwall Council, which would undermine the democratic basis of local government. It would place authority into the hands of one individual, while reducing the influence of councillors over budgets and council strategies.
It is ridiculous and undemocratic that the mayor would only need a majority of councillors to agree his / her budget, but that the budget can only be modified with the support of more than 66% of councillors. And it is little wonder that more than 80 town and parish councils have requested a referendum on the mayor proposal.
It remains the position of MK that Cornwall merits positive and meaningful devolution as set out in “Towards a Cornish Parliament / Troha Senedh a Gernow,” not unpopular tweaks to local government.
Commitments from central government?
Throughout the document, there are repeated “commitments” from central government. A wordsearch of the document shows that there are 27 pledges to “work with” the unitary authority on various matters, eight pledges to “consider” specific proposals and 17 pledges to “explore” certain initiatives.
These tend to be matters of devolution anyway and such “aspirations” cannot be taken seriously in this time of ongoing austerity. There is no guarantee that such “commitments” will lead to anything. It is also the case that some of the funding and some of the proposals are subject to business cases (that have to be approved by central government). Some commitments are further undermined as the text says they will be taken forward “where appropriate” – further reducing any certainty of delivery.
In contrast, the document also references certain initiatives already happening and which are therefore not dependent upon any deal. Likewise, there are numerous things in the document which central government could, or should, be doing anyway, and would not need to be dependent upon any deal.
A creative carbon zero economy
In addition to the “Cornwall Innovation Programme,” the deal states that the UK Government “supports Cornwall Council’s ambition to create a Cornwall FLOW (Floating Offshore Wind) Commission” and notes that “devolved regional institutions” including Cornwall Council, should “have a meaningful role in planning our future energy system for net zero.” It is also suggested that the UK Infrastructure Bank “could offer advice and support to local actors, including Cornwall Council” and pledges support to Cornwall Council “alongside other local authorities across England” to “take forward heat network zoning.” It specifically mentions a heat network for the unpopular Langarth development, which is already happening.
There is nothing in this section of the document, which merits being described as devolution.
Sustainable food, land and seas
There is a limited amount in this section of the deal. It states that that central government will “support Cornwall Council to build the capacity it needs to leverage private finance into nature recovery,” and lists interventions which “may” happen in the future.
Hedgerows (vegetation boundaries) are protected through “regulations,” which do not cover Cornish hedges (stone-faced earthen banks plus vegetation). The deal states that central government will “consider the case for supporting the positive management of Cornish hedges through the agricultural transition programme of farming reforms.” This is limited and not guaranteed, and this is an example of a regulatory anomaly that central government should already be dealing with anyway.
There is also nothing in this section of the document, which merits being described as devolution.
Thriving places with decent, affordable homes
Transport
In addition to revenue funding for transport plans, the deal states central government will “work with the Council to agree an integrated multi-year transport settlement at the next Spending Review” and encourage the unitary authority to respond to the upcoming LEVI (local electric vehicle infrastructure) schemes for local authorities. It also states that central government will “consider the proposals to enhance the A38 … taking into account its economic benefits balanced against wider factors” and “consider conferring franchising powers under the Transport Act 2000 to Cornwall Council” and consider the devolution of the Bus Service Operators Grant once it has been reformed. There is also a promise of support for Cornwall Council in seeking a “new rail partnership with Great British Railways.” The deal further suggests that Cornwall Council should “explore opportunities to apply for additional funding and support to deliver” Mid Cornwall Rail – which is already happening – and “explore how best to extend the existing Cornwall Rail Station Digitisation project across Cornwall” and “work with Cornwall Council and Active Travel England on innovative local active travel schemes.” The deal also states that central government will “consider options for future legislation to enable a more efficient toll revision process” in relation to the Tamar Crossings.
It is clear that these proposals are accommodations between central government and Cornwall’s unitary authority in Cornwall and, once again, do not merit being described as devolution.
Housing
Paragraphs 71 and 73 states that “Cornwall Council’s elected mayor will have the power to designate mayoral development areas and to create Mayoral Development Corporations,”” which will support delivery on strategic sites in Cornwall.” But such an approach to planning may not have the support of local communities. Such a Corporation will also be within the influence of the mayor and there will inevitably be less fairness and equity within the planning process.
The deal also states the unitary authority will “create a Cornwall Land Commission” which could use land from the “public sector estate” for the provision of housing. MK is worried that the sell-off of public land could undermine the ability of the wider public sector to grow and provide public services into the future.
These measures, and the associated funding linked to the deal (noted above), are focussed on housing growth and they do not give control to the people of Cornwall. It does not mean that all decisions over planning, planning policy and housing are taken in Cornwall, which is what is desperately needed.
Cornwall needs meaningful devolution and that must be a Parliament which, for example, could produce a Cornish National Planning Policy Framework to replace the NPPF produced by central government, and guarantee that all “appeal” processes would also be fully controlled from within Cornwall.
Other housing matters in the deal include central government stating it will “work with Cornwall Council to develop a proposal, with potential funding for, a pilot scheme trialling improved enforcement in the private rented sector,” and it will “explore testing the concept of a simpler approach to neighbourhood planning” and “commits to explore the potential benefits” of a “place-based approach to delivering retrofit measures,” which local authorities including Cornwall Council could engage with.
Once again, these matters are not devolution, while the commitment from central government, in paragraph 83, to “work closely with Cornwall Council on any future changes” taken forward in relation to the control of second homes and short term lets is pretty meaningless.
Other matters
In terms of holiday accommodation, central government states it will “engage with Cornwall Council as it establishes the new accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships model for England” and work with the unitary authority to “investigate what changes could help to support the supply of safe and sustainable short term holiday accommodation and wider destination management.” The deal also notes the “benefits of relocating roles to locations outside Greater London to support levelling up across the UK” but makes no specific commitment to Cornwall. Town centre regeneration is mentioned and previous allocations from the Towns and Future High Streets Fund (significantly greater in extent than monies from the deal) are noted, and it is further noted that Cornwall Council should “continue to explore opportunities to apply for additional funding and support” to supports towns.
Once again, there is nothing in this section of the document, which merits being described as devolution.
Skills and education
Paragraph 90 states that the “Government will fully devolve the Adult Education Budget to Cornwall Council from academic year 2025/26,” though this arrangement will not cover apprenticeships or traineeships. The deal states central government “will consult with Cornwall Council on a funding formula for calculating the size of the grant to be paid.”
The deal states that Local Skills Improvement Plans are being rolled out across Cornwall and England, adding that “Cornwall Council will need to support and provide input” into the LSIP covering Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. In addition, the deal states that the unitary authority needs to “work in partnership to develop proactive support for priority groups through ongoing engagement with the local Department for Work and Pensions Jobcentre Plus” and that the various parties need to “work together to better target employment support,” while the Department for Work and Pensions “will consider what role Cornwall Council could have in the design and delivery of contracted employment programmes.”
The deal also mentions that Cornwall will be one of fifty-five Education Investment Areas to tackle areas of low educational attainment, but this is being agreed through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
Culture, heritage, sport and language
Paragraph 103 pledges that the “Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)’s Arm’s Length Bodies will work in partnership with Cornwall Council” to recognise and prioritise future opportunities in terms of culture, heritage and sport, etc. This will be supported by a refreshed Cultural Investment Board and a Memorandum of Understanding, “which will provide updated forums and frameworks in which partners can strategically work together to support greater funding alignment, joint investment and strategic collaboration …” It is also stated that investment decisions “may” include “Cornish Distinctiveness.”
In addition to the funding noted previously, the deal states that central government “commits to work with the Council to explore ways further to support the ongoing protection and promotion of the Cornish language in private and public life.” It mentions consideration of 30 proposals to review formal arrangements regarding responsibility for Cornish language planning and delivery, while committing to “include Cornish in any list of regional and minority languages that appears in forthcoming legislation where appropriate, to enable greater awareness and use of the Cornish language.” The commitment to mention Cornish in future legislation relating to minority languages (such as a Media Bill) should be happening anyway.
And it remains a ridiculous scenario that, following the passing of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act, Cornish is the only Celtic language within the United Kingdom that does not enjoy some form of legislative protection.
The UK Government recognised Cornish through the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002, but in the last 20 years it has failed to meet its obligations. The promise of a one-off payment is inadequate. The language needs guaranteed long-term funding to safeguard its future and ensure that, for example, that it can be taught in all Cornish schools.
The deal also makes comment about signage on the group of sites managed under licence by English Heritage Trust to ensure that the “presentation, interpretation, and marketing of sites” better reflects Cornish particularities.
Once again, it is questionable whether anything in this section could be described as devolution.
Safe, healthy, resilient communities
Paragraph 111 states that central government “commits to working with the Council and partners to explore initiatives to improve delivery of public services” and a “place-based approach” to deliver health improvements across a dispersed geography. The deal notes that the Department of Health and Social Care is “currently reviewing the expression of interest submitted by the Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for a Pool Health Hub” and “NHS England’s regional team received a business case from Cornwall in September 2022 for investment to upgrade the health estate in Bodmin,” while also making general comments about collaboration to “improve health and wellbeing.”
All the proposals about the NHS are ongoing accommodations and are not matters of devolution. In addition, Mebyon Kernow takes the view that the measures in the deal do little to address the crisis and systemic problems in the NHS, and the reality that much of the NHS provision for Cornwall is not even within Cornwall.
In terms of crime and public safety, the deal states that central government “will work with the Devon and Cornwall Police & Crime Commissioner to agree an appropriate arrangement to ensure close collaboration and productive joint working on public safety between the elected mayor of Cornwall Council and PCC,” while Cornwall Council might be able to participate in the “future testing and piloting of potential new roles and responsibilities for local emergency planning and preparedness.”
If the UK Government is serious about Cornwall as a political unit for devolution, it should re-form a Cornish Police Force.
A digital resolution for sustainable living
In this section of the document, there is reference to a range of government initiatives including Connected Places technology, the upcoming Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, the National Cyber Strategy 2022, and the delivery of better broadband through Project Gigabit.
It also notes that “broadband companies have been invited to bid for £36 million worth of contracts to bring fast connections for up to 19,000 homes and businesses in many of the hard-to-reach areas of Cornwall.”
This to be welcomed, but is already happening and therefore not dependent on any so-called “devolution deal.”
