LOOKING TO DELIVER REFORM
Change is in the air when it comes to doing business with County Hall.
Reform UK’s council leader Stephen Atkinson spells out another significant change of course being plotted by the new regime, as the shake-up inside the corridors of power gets underway.
He says: “A big thing we are looking at is procurement. We are not very keen on Tier One contractors that then sub that out to local businesses.
“We’d rather have a contractual relationship with the local companies and that will deliver value and a better service.”
He adds: “That means more money staying in the county, more money going into services, but also having a contractual relationship with the people doing the work, as opposed to being once removed, is really important.
process bogs them down. We want to remove that and let them concentrate on the job that is their primary role. But this will take a while.”
Other priorities on the Reform list are improving special educational needs (SEND) provision following a what he describes as a “damning report” in February.
Adult social care is also high on the list: “That is not operating as we would like it.”
Work to improve the highways network is already underway. “Road signs are being cleaned for the first time in 20 years,” he explains, as part of a “civic pride narrative”. Filling the potholes is on the agenda.
When it comes to local council reorganisation and an elected mayor for Lancashire, something Labour’s deputy PM Angela Rayner has declared will happen,
A big thing we are looking at is procurement.
We are not very keen on Tier One contractors that then sub that out to local businesses
“I have a small business and I have to sign up to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to get on some tenders and I’m thinking, why? I’m supplying tables and chairs to schools. We’ve got to start asking questions.”
Councillor Atkinson’s background is in business. A self-trained engineer, he started his first commercial venture with his brother at the age of 21.
The 55-year-old married father-of-two who represents Ribble Valley South West, served as leader of Ribble Valley Council from January 2019 until standing down earlier this year. He defected from the Conservatives to Reform in March and now finds himself in the county hotseat.
In one of his first interviews since taking over the role, Coun Atkinson says work to examine the council’s books is already underway. It won’t be a quick exercise.
He says: “We will probably be looking at the autumn to get an absolute clear view of where we are. This is a £2bn turnover organisation with 13,500 employees and that’s not including the school staff.”
No stone will be left unturned, he says. “It will be line by line and forensic, it has to be.”
And he adds: “What we have to do is deliver a balanced budget, that is the imperative. Or else commissioners will be brought in by central government.”
There is much Reform talk of improving ‘productivity’. Coun Atkinson explains: “I think the workforce is fantastic. They are amazing, they work very hard. Unnecessary
Stephen Atkinson, Nigel Farage and Simon Evans
Coun Atkinson remains diametrically opposed – though he stresses that is his personal view.
The new administration is asking Westminster for a legally binding referendum on the matter, though he says he doesn’t know if it will be permitted.
He says: “Council tax is the biggest household bill. The residents should be asked if they want to have an additional precept for a mayor, which is an additional cost.”
He also wants people to make the decision on how many tiers of local government there should be in Lancashire going forward. “It needs to be their choice,” he says.
And he shares his belief a mayoralty “could become very politicised” in terms of investment decisions, although he also
says it has worked well for Manchester. He points to the different rural nature of Lancashire, saying funding in mayoral areas is inevitably pulled to the centre.
“Have a look at Manchester,” he adds. “Walk down Deansgate and you could be in Manhattan, go out to some of the more remote towns like Bolton or Rochdale and Bury and see if you feel the same way.”
Answering those who say Lancashire is missing out on multi-million pounds of funding through its lack of a mayor, he says: “The decisions to fund mayors is a political decision. The Treasury could just as easily fund the county council.”
Net zero is another area where he differs from central government. He says: “We’ve got to get real about economic growth. Net zero is so damaging because energy costs are just crucifying manufacturing and this is the manufacturing heartland of England.
“It’s national policy, what we’ve got be is very clear that this is a massive act of self-harm. If the US, India, China were all on board we might be able to do something but as it is we are going to impoverish ourselves and not have the money for climate resilience, which is something we are going to have to get very serious about.”
He has plans to go out and talk to Lancashire’s business community and has already met with Mo Isap, who heads the new combined authority’s business board. A visit to Manchester to meet with its combined authority – “so we can learn” – is also on the agenda.
With such a packed agenda, how is the county’s new leader settling into the role? He says: “It’s a massive honour. This is a historic institution.
“I am enjoying it but it’s hard. I’ve had to almost fully exit my business. My brother’s still there, so that’s great. I think we can do good things.”
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