'Could mega cities be even harder to work with than individual local councils?'

29 Sep 2016 News

Dan Corry

Dan Corry, chief executive of NPC, asked Labour mayoral candidates how devolution would impact the charity sector, amid concerns that mega cities could be harder to work with than local councils. 

Speaking at a fringe session at the Labour Party Conference, Corry asked what role the candidates see for the charity sector in the devolution agenda, and asked how they will ensure that “charities in the wider social sector are supported to deliver the greatest possible impact to create better, fairer city regions”.

He said that many in the sector worried about what is going to happen, and that “it could be that rather than good news for the voluntary sector, that a mega Liverpool or Manchester or West Midlands will be even harder to work with than individual local councils, CCGs and the like”.

Labour’s metro mayor candidate for West Midlands, Sion Simons, responded by saying that a lack of involvement of the voluntary sector in devolution arrangements so far does not suggest a lack of willingness to work with it.

The fringe event on devolution to city regions was called “what will Labour’s metro mayors do for you?”. The event, which was partly hosted by NPC, had a panel of speakers including Andy Burnham, candidate for Greater Manchester; Steve Rotherham, candidate for Liverpool City Region; and Sion Simon, candidate for the West Midlands.

The devolution process is opaque 

Simons said that the voluntary sector are not the only ones not to be included in any debates, and that the process is one that is opaque. But, he said: “The fact that the voluntary sector, like everybody else, wasn’t involved in the process - I don’t think this speaks of a disrespect or a lack of willingness in the future with the third sector.

"I know that the third sector often reports difficulties in accessing local government and finds councils difficult institutions to deal with, in particularly big councils, but I do think that is a process question rather than a political question. I think there is a lot of understanding and will across the board that the third sector has got to be a central part of the solution to delivering whatever it is we deliver.”

A more 'collaborative approach to commissioning'

Rotherham said that the devolution system would mean a “much more collegiate and collaborative approach to commissioning”.

He said he plans to set up a “commission for social justice”, and that a voluntary, charity and community sector will be on that, and will eb an “integral part of developing policy”.

He added: “But I also don’t want to wait until May 2017 before I produce a manifesto. So as part of that process I will say if anybody in the local city regions wants to be part of that, there will be mechanisms where you can feed in ideas”.

He added that while they are trying to work out the mechanisms of how this will work over the next six or seven months, he would invite anybody that wants to be part of that to get in contact.

Dr Adam Marshall, acting director general at the British Chambers of Commerce, said to Corry: “You are pushing at an open door.”  

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