The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing motion

The tale of the woolly wolf in sheep's clothing and the council.

On Thursday evening Eden council will hold its full council meeting with a short agenda including a motion on notice put forward by the leader of the council and seconded by the deputy leader of the council. 

Remember her? Yes the one quoted in the press saying "you dont vote against your own administration".

Back in June 2017 Eden council agreed a new policy around devolution of assets Eden council owns to town and parish councils so that communities could take on and own the assets in their community.

Part of the policy at the time included a 4 year period were Eden council would provide funding on a sliding scale to the town and parish councils to help with easing the transfer and management of the assets.

The 4 year period in the policy ends April 2022 as the 4 years from when the policy was introduced with the hope the funding would encourage communities to take on the assets with the funding support alongside the assets takin into local ownership in the communities rather than Eden council owning the assets.

Now with Local government reorganisation imminent in Cumbria that will see if enacted Eden council and all it's assets become Part of a new council with a asset list that will be a big pot held by the new council and could be sold off as surplus assets to raise funding for the new council and see assets lost to the communities they are part of.

The motion that Eden council have before them on Thursday night has 2 parts to it.

They are:

1. Immediately rescind the March 2022 deadline for the withdrawal of rural services that Parish and Town Councils have not adopted, as defined in the report considered by Council in July 2017

2. Instruct officers to work with Overview and Scrutiny and partners – including Parish and Town Councils and/or their representatives - to develop a new policy that will support devolution of appropriate services to Parish and Town councils for the benefit of the communities we serve, rather than primarily to cut costs for Eden District Council.

Both sound like they are doing good things when in fact they are a wolf in sheep's clothing that will rob communities of speedy devolution of assets and risk them becoming part of a bigger Cumbria wide asset pot in the near future.

First item in the two proposals for approval is the "Immediately rescind the March 2022 deadline for the withdrawal of rural services".

This deadline does not exist in the Eden councils approved policy in any way the only 2022 date is that of the end of the 4 year grant funding for assets transferred already.

The motion is giving a false policy interpretation in the guise of doing something good when in fact it is a false flag motion designed to enable Eden council to then stall devolution with the second part of the motion looking to put forward a new policy after consultation and the drawn-out process of making a new policy to be approved by Eden council if it still exists to enact it.

The motion gives very little detail to back up the motion including no details of the legal implications of the motion and the financial impact on Eden council and it's council tax payers.

The only act this motion is doing is to give political gains to the executive and enable them to hold tightly onto the asset pot they hold as they go into the negotiations that will forge the shape of the new unitary council for Cumbria as a bargaining tool at the expense of the communities those assets are in.

This motion is by no means what it appears on face value and is a wolf in sheep's clothing motion that will not serve the community interests of resident of Eden.

The full 2017 policy can be viewed via this link: https://democracy.eden.gov.uk/documents/s8020/15_Cl_CD40_13Jul17_DevolutionOfServices.pdf

The Motion before Eden council can be viewed via this link: https://democracy.eden.gov.uk/documents/s16852/Cllr%20Taylor%2020.4.21%20motion%20on%20notice.pdf