Issue - meetings

To receive a verbal update on Essex Wide Devolution.

The Director of Strategy and Resources provided a verbal update on the Essex Wide Devolution.  He referred to a letter circulated by the Leader of the Council on 1 February 2024 from the three upper tier authorities in relation to the latest position regarding devolution.  The letter stated that due to reservations amongst some Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding establishing a combined County Authority for Greater Essex no agreement on a tier 2 level deal had been reached.  The Government had since written to upper tier authorities confirming that effectively the bid had timed out in terms of reaching an agreement and there was not enough time left within this parliament for an agreement (if reached) to be approved.  The Director advised that for this reason devolution work had been paused until after the election and this would be his final update until such time as anything changed.

Some discussion followed, and questions raised about why the MPs had not supported devolution.  In response the Director advised that he was unable to comment because the detail of the MP meetings had not been released.  At this point, Councillor M F L Durham also provided additional information in relation to devolution bids.

The Chairperson thanked the Director of Strategy and Resources for his update.