By Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of Vale of White Horse District Council

DURING a time of considerable uncertainty across the UK, devolving more powers and funding to local areas to drive economic growth and tackle the big public service challenges is more important than ever.

In Oxfordshire, we have been working on proposals for greater local control of government funding to allow us to make a profound difference to the big challenges our area faces.

Central government told us we would need to examine changes to local government that would deliver value for money, better services and accountability to the people of Oxfordshire.

Oxfordshire’s district and city councils are working together to develop what we think is the best deal for residents.

The county is home to 700,000 residents across diverse communities, from Chipping Norton and Henley-on-Thames to Blackbird Leys and Rose Hill.

We want to embrace that diversity by removing the current two-tier system and establishing single-tier councils based on district areas. 

These locally-elected unitary councils would be responsible for all local government services in the area. 

They would operate in a way that reflects the different interests and challenges of their communities.

This would ensure residents influence decisions about where they live, the services they rely on and the houses, jobs, transport, schools and facilities they use.

For strategic countywide decisions such as improving public transport, the expansion of the A34 or the future of adult social care, the unitary council leaders would join with key partners in a decision-making body known as a “combined authority”.

We are proposing to directly involve the NHS, business representatives, emergency services and other key stakeholders. 

This would create, for the first time, a single strategic body committed to tackling the big challenges facing Oxfordshire.

It would address how each organisation affects the others – how stalled housing upgrades for disabled people are leading to bed blocking, for example.

Oxfordshire County Council has proposed one unitary council covering the whole county. 

By its own admission, a council of that size would struggle to represent the county’s diverse communities so, as outlined in yesterday’s Oxford Mail, it is proposing a new layer of “area boards”, made up from clusters of parish and town councils around district centres.

Councillor Nick Carter said it would give these boards control over “parking and grass cutting”.

Responsibility for local services such as planning, community centres, leisure facilities and housing would rest with the countywide authority.

People in market towns and parishes are already telling us they are afraid this would overlook their needs, increase council tax and force unwanted developments. 

Oxford’s residents are saying they don’t want it run by those who neither live in nor understand the city.

The county council is also operating at a financial deficit and has been unable to set a sustainable budget for the future.

Clearly it is struggling to deliver basic services such as pothole repairs, grass cutting, bus subsidies, children’s centres and helping elderly people out of hospital on time.

There are serious questions about how it would provide the resources and funding for the responsibilities it is proposing to devolve to town and parish councils.

We’re not claiming to be able to wave a magic wand, but our strong record of financial accountability, supporting communities, promoting the local economy and working with voluntary and community sectors to improve residents’ quality of life shows that a different approach is available.

We also have fruitful partnerships with parish and town councils that have shaped local areas – for example by providing expertise and resources to develop neighbourhood plans. 

District unitaries would build on this record.

But we want to listen to your views and it’s important that any proposals to change governance are subject to robust public consultation. 

Until then, you can read more about our proposals by visiting oxfordshire.vision