council leader Stephen Atkinson, who also chairs the county’s new combined authority, has already put the call in to Westminster.
Mr Farage told his team that he was against “taking away control from smaller rural districts”.
In a clear message to the business community, the new regime declared its intention to try and prioritise Lancashire businesses when it comes to procurement and the signing of contracts.
Speaking after meeting the cabinet members, Farage told Lancashire Business View: “If it is the wrong price and not the right service it
payments of £100,000 per day. He said that while all incoming administrations “blame” their predecessors, “genuinely in Lancashire what we have inherited is a mess”.
Telling Reform councillors there was “great responsibility” on their shoulders, he said: “You guys really have inherited a very difficult situation and it is not going to be easy.”
He also told them that how they are judged to have performed in local government in Lancashire will play a part in how well the party does at the next general election in 2029.
Get this right – improve the county,
improve people’s lives – and you will all feel an immense sense of pride
isn’t going to happen. Those criteria have to be met. But if we are able to use smaller local companies, rather than big corporates we will attempt to do so.”
The challenges facing the council when it comes to special educational needs (SEND) provision and adult social care were also highlighted during his cabinet conversations, as was the state of the county’s roads.
Mr Farage spoke of the county council’s £1.2bn of debt which he said attracts interest
Frankly Speaking
LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE By Frank McKenna
Downtown Lancashire in Business
Having looked set to grasp the opportunity of an elected mayor and the significant investment that goes with it, Lancashire’s devolution plans may be stalled once again.
With the recent political shift at County Hall, where Reform UK have taken charge, there is apparently a more sceptical view of local government re-organisation from the new political grouping in charge.
To make matters worse, Lancashire’s existing planning authorities, in the shape of borough councils, seem set on putting at risk the arrival of the much- anticipated National Cyber Force (NCF) at Samlesbury.
The arrival of the NCF would represent one of the most significant government investments in Lancashire for decades. Positioned at the heart of the UK’s cyber defence and digital security strategy, the NCF will create thousands of highly skilled jobs and place the county on the map as a global centre for innovation. But without a corresponding boost to housebuilding, the ambition risks being undermined.
Lancashire has a growing shortage of homes – both in the affordable market, and in property that is attractive to young professionals and senior executives – and so the recently released local plan from Central Lancashire, which offers less housebuilding than previous projections, is a kick in the teeth for investors and developers who have been working with local authorities over many years to develop strategies that can deliver the infrastructure required to cope with the arrival of the NCF.
I am now hearing strong rumours, from academic institutions through to investors, that Lancashire’s lack of seriousness in preparing for such a major initiative might well see Manchester offer its services and add to its already burgeoning cyber capacity.
Government has rightly invested in our cyber future. If Lancashire wants a piece of the action, then the county’s civic leaders must support more ambitious local housing delivery and infrastructure plans.
LANCASHIREBUSINES SV
IEW.CO.UK
He said: “You’ve been put here by the voters in Lancashire, you’ve been asked to make savings where they’re appropriate, you’ve been asked to uphold high standards of behaviour in public life and you’ve been asked to do the best for the county – and I know that in your hearts, all of you absolutely want to do that.
“Get this right – improve the county, improve people’s lives – and you will all feel an immense sense of pride.”
Lancashire Leaders Page 30
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