In accordance the Council Procedural Rules, a total period of 30 minutes is allocated for members of the public to speak at Council meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to speak in relation to items of business on the agenda only. Individual members of the public may speak for up to 2 minutes, but the Chair will have discretion to vary this requirement where they consider it appropriate.
Members of the public wishing to speak are required to provide notice of this at least three clear working days’ in advance of the meeting and should include the question with that notice. Requests to speak and questions should be submitted via the Register to Speak form.
Minutes:
The following public speakers spoke in relation to Item 4 – Cheshire and Warrington Devolution and the Mayoral Combined Authority.
Mr Paul Colman spoke in support of the report and its recommendations on behalf of South and North Cheshire Chamber of Commerce, which represented businesses across the region. Mr Colman stated that for businesses to prosper and local communities to benefit, especially those experiencing disadvantage and deprivation, devolution was essential. Mr Colman stated the benefits of devolution and how it would provide the necessary tools to invest in what mattered most locally such as infrastructure, skills, and integrated transport. Devolution would allow businesses to grow and create jobs and opportunities for local communities. Mr Colman urged Members to support devolution.
Mr Robert Douglas spoke in opposition of devolution and stated that it would introduce an additional tier of local government, and which would disadvantage Cheshire East residents. Mr Douglas highlighted his concerns in relation to devolution including the ability for an Elected Mayor to introduce a Mayoral Precept which would place an additional financial burden upon local households. Mr Douglas stated that supporting devolution would further risk the Council’s financial stability and urged Members to oppose the recommendations set out within the report, which he felt were a negligent use of time and resource.
Ms Wendy Whittaker-Large spoke in opposition of devolution andstated that the public devolution consultation had received negative feedback from residents, Ms Whittaker-Large requested that Members took this on board when considering this item and its recommendations. Ms Whitaker-Large stated that the costs of a Mayoral Authority would fall to the public to pay for through increases in council tax and that the projections for economic growth were negligible.
Mr Henry Brooks spoke in support of devolution andstated that devolution would provide an opportunity for businesses across the county to prosper and would have a significant impact on future generations in securing investment in the local area.
Mr Jasbir Dhesi OBE stated that he spoke not just as a representative from the skills and local educational sector, but as someone who had worked in Cheshire East for more than a decade and expressed that he was aware of the talent, ambition and the potential that existed in local communities. He stated that devolution would provide the chance to shape a skills system which was designed to benefit businesses. Mr Dhesi stated that local businesses including Bentley and AstraZeneca needed a system that was agile, responsive, and locally led and that devolution would allow for the co-designing of training with employers, support adults to retrain and upskill and create real pathways for young people into meaningful careers.
Ms Helen Tonks MBE stated she was a member of the Cheshire and Warrington Business Advisory Board, a UK Government Export Champion and MBE recipient for services to business and exports. Ms Tonks stated that small businesses would benefit from devolution and would create a local environment in favour of small businesses. Ms Tonks expressed that a vote against devolution could mean more uncertainty, less stability, less control, less investment. She urged Members to vote for devolution.
Mr David Briggs stated that as a previous Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire, he cared deeply about the prosperity of Cheshire and was saddened that potential overseas investors were not encouraged to invest in the area as they were only introduced to the Mayors of Manchester and Liverpool. Mr Briggs highlighted that devolution would open up opportunities for new investment and existing businesses would benefit from skills programmes and opportunities to create more enterprise zones. Devolution would mean that Cheshire could attract investment to become equal to the two city neighbours.
Mr Steve Purdham spoke in support of devolution and stated that as a resident and member of the Cheshire and Warrington Business Advisory Board, devolution was important in the region and was the single most powerful step that could be taken for growth. Devolution would mean businesses in Cheshire would get the same opportunities whether they were urban or rural. Mr Purdham stated that the business community fully supported devolution.