Milton Keynes Council
A cooperative council working to deliver stronger, more sustainable local communities through devolution
Milton Keynes Council
Number of parishes
|
Total parish precept levied (2021/21)
|
Per cent of population covered by parishes
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48 (Town or Parish Councils or Parish meetings)
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£8,501,088
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100%
|
Milton Keynes developed a toolkit to support Community Asset Transfer in 2012, following the implementation of the Localism Act 2011. After a period of community engagement, and the transfer of five pilot assets, the toolkit was adopted by the council and used to support transfer of some assets to parish councils within Milton Keynes.
Between 2016 and 2018, in response to budget pressures, the council discussed with the town and parish councils whether they would be interested in taking over landscape and grounds maintenance services in their areas. Six parish and town (local) councils had previously taken on devolved landscaping services in 2014 prior to the council putting landscape and grounds maintenance services out to tender at that time. Building on this, and in consultation with the town and parish council sector locally, a framework was developed to outline the potential for wider devolution of services. This framework was adopted by the council in 2018, initially to sit alongside the Community Asset Transfer programme, and subsequently, in 2019, rolled together into a single asset transfer and service devolution programme for working with town and parish councils.
The toolkit for this combined programme: Working Together: An Approach to Devolution of Assets (Facilities) and Services supports ambitious local councils in approaching Milton Keynes council and asking for the devolution of assets or services.
Asset transfers/devolution
The programme is currently focused on supporting town and parish councils with the devolution of the following types of asset:
- Amenity Land
- Play Areas
- Public Toilets
- Parks and Open Spaces
- Seats
- Footway Lighting
- Depots
- Bus Shelters
- Monuments
- Litter Bins
- Grit Bins
These transfers are, in many cases, freehold transfers from the principal council. To date, Milton Keynes Council has transferred the freehold to 35 assets. Up to around 2015, many of these were smaller assets, such as small pieces of land, but as confidence in the devolution has grown, several town and parish councils have taken on larger assets, including a leisure centre.
Service devolution
This programme focussed at first on devolution of landscaping and ground maintenance, with six parishes taking this on in 2014, and a further six in 2020. Generally, these examples of service devolution have required the development of a services contract between the two bodies, detailing the requirements and any funding. There is an opportunity for different contract and contract monitoring approaches being taken depending on whether a service is statutory (and Milton Keynes Council remains accountable) or a discretionary service. As current large-scale contracts with commercial providers to operate services on behalf of Milton Keynes come to an end, there will be the potential for further opportunities for devolution of services.
There are occasions where an asset or service cannot be devolved, such as where there is the potential for redevelopment; the service being a part of a wider council contract; or issues around land, either historically, or where adjoining land is not being transferred. However, in general, the council will work with town and parish councils on a case-by-case basis.
There have been significant benefits from the transfer of assets from Milton Keynes Council, to the town or parish councils and to the community. These benefits include both value for money for Milton Keynes Council, and a number of beneficial outcomes for communities.
Value for money
Overall, there have been a number of savings generated from the transfer of assets through the devolution programme.
While the specific savings from individual transfers have often been small, such as the transfer of the Frank Moran Centre to West Bletchley Council, which saves £2,294 per year, there are some devolved assets which have generated larger savings. These include Stony Stratford Library, transferred to the town council, which saves Milton Keynes Council £27,500 per annum. Similarly, Medbourne Pavilion, transferred to Shenley Church End Parish Council generates £36,000 in revenue savings.
In terms of the overall cumulative savings achieved as a result of the programme up to February 2021, Milton Keynes generated total revenue savings (without accounting for programme costs) of £359,728 per annum. This is likely to grow, as more savings are generated through further devolution.
The programme itself generated a number of costs, which total £228,442. At the end of 2016, there were legal costs of around £1,474 per transfer and property costs of around £4,084 per transfer. By 2021 these had fallen considerably as a result of experience and the shift in the types of assets being devolved, with legal costs per transfer significantly reduced. There are a number of other costs associated with the transfers; however, as the programme has matured these have, in many cases, reduced. For example, the programme’s direct staffing costs were £86,999 in 2013, but dropped to £23,884 in 2016. Since then, there have been no extra direct staff costs. This change has been as a result of efficiencies in the programme, and the change in focus towards devolving open land, as many assets were devolved earlier in the process.
The council estimates that the total annual revenue benefit from the programme up to February 2021 to be £132,286.
Outcomes for community
The programme has aimed to create local delivery of services and management of assets that meet the wider needs of local communities. The programme has been of significant benefit to local communities in Milton Keynes, with the local provision of services and assets helping to prevent the closure of assets that would otherwise be under increasing cost pressure. This programme has been successful in ensuring that town and parish councils have a sustainable base from which to operate the service or asset.
Furthermore, there have been a number of other beneficial outcomes. As local councils have begun to run assets and services, there have been cases of investment, maintenance and upgrades that Milton Keynes would not have been able to provide otherwise. This is particularly relevant in the cases of Stony Stratford Library and Medbourne Pavilion, both of which have had work carried out in improvements, turning the library into a ‘knowledge hub’, while the pavilion has seen resurfacing of the hall floors, a revamping of the kitchen and repairs and redecoration.
Contact
Neil Hanley, Milton Keynes Council, [email protected]
Chippenham Town Council and Wiltshire Council
Working with the principal council to gain control essential assets and service for the benefit of a local area
Total precept
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Population of parish
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£3,406,852
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Over 40,000 (urban area population: 45,620)
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Chippenham Town Council has 24 councillors representing eight wards and a resident base of over 40,000 people, making it the largest in Wiltshire. As an active town council, Chippenham has been ambitious in pursuing the devolution of assets and services from the principal authority, which have important historic and place significance for the town. This includes Monkton Park, the large park in the centre of the town. To this end, in 2018, the council established a Working Party and a ‘Basket of Opportunity’ to help commence devolution negotiations with Wiltshire Council.
On 1 June 2019, a finalised package of services and assets was transferred from Wiltshire Council to Chippenham. The package involved the devolution of the grounds maintenance and street scene services; responsibility over amenity land hard areas and assets; and the management of the Friday and Saturday market. Alongside this, several freehold assets were devolved from the principal council to Chippenham Town Council including Neeld Hall, the Fifteenth century Yelde Hall, Monkton Park, several play areas and Patterdown Allotments. There was no transfer of funding from Wiltshire Council as part of this package, however, Chippenham was asked to make a financial contribution of £350,000 per annum to Wiltshire Council in lieu of a novated contract with IdVerde. This arrangement commenced in June 2019 and was set to continue until June 2020, or until the contract expired. Although, in the end, the requested contribution from CTC was waived.
Value for money
Chippenham’s long-term aspiration of improving the quality of town life, as well as responding to budget pressures and the costs brought on by COVID-19, has necessitated precept rises as the council has taken on more responsibilities. This has, at various points necessitated larger rises in town council precept, including a rise of 37.5 per cent, or £65 per Band D equivalent household in 2018/19 to prepare for the incoming devolution. More recently, Chippenham has committed to rises of 3.20 per cent for the 2021/22 year, bringing the total precept income from £3,236,261 in 2020-21 to £3,406,852 in 2021-22. For a Band D household, this now means a precept of £270.44 per annum. The council has also increased its spending by circa £500,000 per year specifically around the road sweeping service, where it has purchased additional equipment including a 17-tonne road sweeper, a smaller precinct type sweeper, pickup trucks and ride on mowers as well as expanding its outdoor workforce by 10 new employees, who will be responsible for maintaining various services and assets.
Outcomes for community
Overall, the town council is ambitious and has no limits on where it wants to go with the devolution agenda, as long as it has the support of residents and councillors. In the future, the council aims to establish a capital fund, recognising that it will need to generate savings to ensure that long-term maintenance spending can be carried out, such as the replacement of bridges in Monkton Park.
The delegation of responsibilities and the devolution of assets and services has brought a number of positive benefits to local community in Chippenham, allowing the town council to make services more responsive to local needs. This has helped enhance service delivery around the town’s street cleaning operations and green space maintenance as well as securing the long-term sustainability of freehold assets.
The council has kept a good dialogue with residents over the precept and other changes, with a recent neighbourhood planning survey of 660 people indicating that residents are pleased with the current administration and how the town is progressing.
Wiltshire’s perspective
Wiltshire have been willing to work with ambitious town and parish councils within its area on a programme of devolution which suits their individual needs. Supported by their Community Ownership of Assets Toolkit, Wiltshire have negotiated for the transfer of assets and services to a number of town and parish councils, including Chippenham. The devolution of responsibilities, assets, and services to Chippenham Town Council, has also resulted in a net saving of around £300,000 for Wiltshire Council.
While Wiltshire have found some of the process challenging, with legal challenges around land ownership to overcome, there have been a number of benefits to local communities. Wiltshire has been willing to invest in assets or services before delegation, if that brings good results for communities.
Devolution in Wiltshire will continue with reviews on an ongoing basis to ensure packages of devolved services represent good value for money and deliver better services through town and parish councils like Chippenham.
Contacts
Mark Smith, Chief Executive, Chippenham Town Council, [email protected]
Hannah Day, Programme Support Manager, Wiltshire Council, [email protected]
Wyre Forest District Council
Achieving savings and improved outcomes through a flexible localism approach
Number of Parishes
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Total parish precept levied
(2020/21)
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Per cent of population covered by parishes
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13
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£1,317,479
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100%
(one small parish does not have a parish council)
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Wyre Forest District Council in Worcestershire has been fully parished since the establishment of Kidderminster Town Council, with the backing of residents, in December 2015. Wyre Forest has a commitment to ensure that local communities can best serve their residents through local delivery of assets and services, in the context of increasing financial and budgetary pressures. As a result of this, the council has worked with the 12 local councils in the area, the three town councils of Bewdley, Kidderminster and Stourport-on-Severn and nine parish councils, on a programme of devolution, which has led to the successful devolution of several services and assets.
The devolution work has been carried out over a number of years. However this has been crystallised with the development of Wyre Forest’s Localism Strategy, published in late 2019. This document acts as a framework for devolution within the district, reaffirming the council’s commitment to devolution, outlining the opportunities and methods by which this can take place, as well as the future devolution ambitions of the council.
The process that Wyre Forest has put in place sets out several opportunities for town and parish councils to take on assets or services through the transfer of the freehold in the case of assets, and full management of services. However, the council is also flexible, and agrees to identify opportunities for devolution and how best to carry this out, using leasehold transfers where parish or town councils would prefer this.
Devolution within Wyre Forest has had a number of benefits, for residents, for the town and parish councils and for the district council. Wyre Forest Council tracks a number of factors to ensure that the devolution continues to be successful. These include the long-term viability of assets and services financially, and more local control of assets and services, as well as value for money as a result of devolution. Tighter financial pressures on the district mean that these types of devolution are necessary, but only where it can be demonstrated that the local councils can sustain the service.
Value for money
Wyre Forest has generated considerable savings as a result of devolution. During the 2019/20 year, a total localism saving was £254,480 compared to the expected expenditure without devolution. This represents a significant saving. Much of this saving has come as a result of devolving services or assets, for example, the transfer of Kidderminster Town hall has generated considerable savings, both from the transfer of the management, including reductions in spending on events including the Christmas Event which costs £8,000 per year, as well as support in legal, finance and ICT for the operation of the asset, which generates income of more than £15,000 per year. Additionally, the transfer of the asset itself will generate further savings over the next few years, as Wyre Forest pays a decreasing grant over the next five years, eventually saving Wyre Forest £117,250 per year as the grant payment ceases.
There have also been opportunities for Wyre Forest to save money more widely as a result of devolution, including the transfer of six members of staff as a result of devolution of the management of Kidderminster Town Hall.
There have been a number of benefits from this devolution. The civic hall in Stourport, which was transferred, was not well used previously, but this has now improved. Additionally, securing the long-term future of the assets, one of Wyre Forest’s ambitions in the context of devolution, has been secured through this work. This has provided opportunities for investment in assets and the maintenance of services, as well as being able to ensure services are more responsive and adapt to local need. This is true at all levels of asset or service, where even down to litter picking there has been far greater responsiveness in comparison to the service the district council was previously able to offer.
Contact
Ian Miller, Chief Executive, [email protected]
Cornwall Council
Extensive transfers of assets and services achieved over more than a decade, in the context of a deepening policy of localism
Number of parishes:
|
Total parish precept levied
(2020/21)
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Per cent of population covered by parishes
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213
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£26,367,775
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100%
|
Since becoming a unitary authority in 2009, Cornwall has deepened its commitment to localism and worked to support parish and town councils to use their powers and actions to improve their communities. It has undertaken over 400 transfer of assets and services. The devolution of assets has played a role in meeting the council’s reduced budget position whilst safeguarding and in some cases, enhancing, local service delivery. One example of a transfer is given below.
Par Running Track
The future of Par Running Track was looking in doubt in 2016 with acute budget pressures facing councils, meaning that difficult decisions about prioritising service provision were being made. Luckily a group of enthusiastic and committed residents, track users and the local parish council, Tywardreath and Par Parish Council, came forward to co-develop a proposal that would lead to the site being leased from Cornwall Council into local management, via Par Track Ltd, a Community Benefit Society, established to oversee the implementation of the ambitious plans for the site.
As a future for the track and its facilities became more certain, Cornwall Council was able to invest a significant sum in resurfacing the track, important as there are limited options for track based sports and training within the Duchy. The transfer was undertaken as a 125 year lease arrangement and Cornwall Council also supported the project with a one-off capital grant to assist with other plans and costs that were necessary to ensure the site was transferred in a suitable condition from which the Society could further enhance the assets.
The vision of the local community was to create a hub at the site, with the provision of library services, a café, a gym, after school sports and a programme of ambitious events and investment that has seen the skate park being replaced, a green exercise trail installed and a BMX pump track to attract and support the health and well-being of a diverse range of residents and users.
The project has been recognised by MCHLG as a real success in its report 'By deeds and their results: How we will strengthen our communities and nation’. The role of local leaders has been instrumental in driving and delivering the project and together with a lot of hard work from the community has turned the site into a vibrant local facility that is at the heart of the community. The society has recently been able attract a new chair to sustain and continue the work to date and the project is a really good example of local ‘people power’ organising and contributing time and commitment to create a community led project that Par Track and its users can rightly be proud of.
Contact
Scott Sharples, Devolution - Communities & Public Protection Service, [email protected]
East Devon District Council and Beer Parish Council
Developing a process to encourage creation of packages of asset and service transfers to support sustainable provision by town and parish councils.
Number of parishes
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Total parish precept levied
(2020/21)
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Per cent of population covered by parishes
|
68
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£4,258,413
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100%
|
East Devon District Council and Beer Parish Council have been involved in a local pilot to explore opportunities for asset devolution within a locality.
A package of transfer measures has been agreed for Beer, designed to allow the community to make better commercial and cultural use of seafront assets. It involves a mix of new responsibilities, including transfer of play areas, open spaces and public toilets, with initial support for costs, including retention of car park revenue, on a reducing taper.
Challenges arose in initial discussions as there was no clearly defined procedure; there was limited financial and running cost data about the assets; and it took time to create a sound business case which supported the transfer of assets and worked for both the district and parish councils. After further work and discussion, the transfers were agreed in October 2019. Over 10 years this is estimated to offer £300,000 in revenue savings to the district council. The parish council intends to seek rental income by exploiting a variety of commercial opportunities, building on the seafront location. As this will take time to ramp up, the district council is providing a dowry on an eight year reducing taper and retention of the car park revenue.
Building on the experience of the pilot, the district council is now consulting locally on a new procedure to provide a clear structure, indicative timetable, fundamental principles and expectations, to encourage other towns, parishes and community groups to apply for asset transfers. Part of the process will involve robust checking that there is a credible mutual business case to do so.
One aim of the new procedure will be to make it easier to negotiate a package approach with a local council, enabling cost implications to be balanced with the aim of achieving revenue neutrality and better outcomes for local people.
Contact
Tim Child, Service Lead – Place, Assets & Commercialisation
[email protected]
Durham County Council
Working with town and parish councils to achieve positive results for residents.
Number of parishes
|
Total parish precept levied
(2020/21)
|
Per cent of population covered by parishes
|
104 (with 22 additional parish meetings)
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£13,637,511
|
c85%
|
Durham County Council’s relationship with parish and town councils has developed from practical arrangements between the principal council and individual parishes to the signing of a charter between local councils and the county council to ‘maximise a joint approach of local councils and the county council working together for the benefit of local people’. These benefits include: generating real service improvements; meeting the public’s expectation that services are joined up; achieving better value for money for residents; improving recycling resources within the local economy; and reducing budgetary pressure.
Devolution and delegation to local councils in Durham has followed an incremental approach tailored to the needs and characteristics of each parish. The choice of approach is dictated by ambition and an assessment of how to generate the greatest benefit for the council, the place and residents. There are four levels of collaboration, each of which provides additional autonomy for a parish wanting to take on a service.
- Collaborative assistance: working together when the principal and local council need to do so, particularly for urgent matters such as snow clearance.
- Reciprocal arrangements: broadly revenue neutral agreements where, for example, a town or parish can work on tending to flower beds in their area, while the county council cuts the grass. This has been used in areas such as Murton.
- Commissioning: where the parish or county pays the other party for extra work to be carried out. For example, Stanley Town Council commissions neighbourhood wardens through the county council, so ensuring that they have access to access vetting, police radios and other economy of scale benefits. Equally, the county council may pay town and parish councils to run local events.
- Devolution: which has been used to transfer a range of assets and services across the area to parish or town councils, such as community halls, parks and open spaces, and cemeteries.
Durham has been successful in delivering devolution with a small county council investment as part of the process. This has increased the appetite for and incentivised further devolution with participating parishes, and with others who had previously been more reluctant.
Benefits
There have been genuine benefits to local communities because of devolution. An example is Shotton Parish Council. After considerable negotiation, the county council agreed to transfer the freehold for the community centre in the village to the parish council. The parish council was then able to invest some of its own money, along with investment from Durham County Council, funding from a section 106 agreement and from the Big Lottery fund, to finance the development of the centre as a new community hub. The building now hosts an IT resource centre which is available for residents of Shotton to book to use for job hunting or upskilling through the provision of courses focused on IT and other skills. The new hub opened early in 2020, and also benefits the community through activities such as youth clubs, dementia clubs and providing accessible community space.
In 2015, the council ran the Delivering Differently programme. This aimed to support town and parish councils to take on the delivery role of local environmental services through greater partnership working or through devolution. In total £90,000 in grant money was received from the then Department for Communities and Local Government to support this form of devolution.
The criteria for the Delivering Differently programme included a value for money element in deciding which proposals to take forward. The highest scoring proposal was from Barnard Castle Town Council, which took on the maintenance of some grassed areas. They also proposed to take on the maintenance of a play area and a TUPE transfer of one member of staff for cleaning toilets. This has generated revenue savings for Durham County Council. Similar projects have also been put in place in Sedgefield and in Brandon and Byshottles, also generating savings.
Contact
Oliver Sherratt, Head of Environment, Neighbourhoods and Climate Change, [email protected]