As reported earlier this year, town and parish councils across Cheshire East are being encouraged to take on the ownership of and responsibility for various local assets and services.
The Council have identified a number of non-statutory services, which they have no legal obligation to provide, and they are proposing to transfer these to town and parish councils.
Cheshire East are currently in discussion with a number of councils who have expressed an interest in taking on assets and services, but until now Alderley Edge Parish Council (AEPC) has chosen to take a back seat so they can watch and learn from the experiences of other councils.
Councillor Mike Williamson told me in April "It is the intention of AEPC to join a second wave of transfers, which will take place upon completion of the current phase."
However, at the Parish Council meeting on Monday June 13th, he explained that the situation has now changed, following the receipt of a letter from Cheshire East on May 12th reporting on the proposal which will be put forward to Cabinet.
He told fellow councillors "The plan going before Cheshire East Cabinet is to transfer them all or stop doing them altogether - therefore removing option 2 of waiting and having a second bite. They are going to stop supplying services if councils have not expressed an interest by April 2012.
"I need your commitment now to start this process because there is a danger if we say no that they'll stop providing those services."
Following last week's Parish Council meeting I caught up with Councillor Williamson regarding the transfer of assets and services from Cheshire East.
He told me "Parish Councillors went to a number of briefings in 2010 regarding a transfer of assets and services by Cheshire East with the intention of the transfer taking place in April 2011. The idea was to transfer an asset or service, with the funding applied to the delivery of that asset or service; local control would allow Parish and Town councils to better focus the delivery to meet their specific needs, and where possible achieve cost savings, or increased service delivery for the same money.
"The overwhelming response was that the timetable was too short, so a recommendation was submitted to Cabinet, by officers, that the process be delayed a year for more consultation and to allow the smaller councils to prepare for transfer. At this stage it was an opt-in approach, and many of the councils considered themselves too small to take on the task. It was at this stage that AEPC decided to wait and see.
"However, briefings this year have changed subtly, in that funding seemed to be less important, and direct questions about what happens to the money were not answered clearly.
"In the letter (received May 12th) specific reference is made to transfer without funding, and this has always been our concern, because currently these services although not statutory, are provided through the Council Tax by Cheshire East.
"The proposal is for the transfer of many assets in April 2012, including: the parks, playing fields, allotments, public conveniences, street furniture and provision of Christmas trees. Of those, only the playing fields and parks will be funded, and the reference is to 'transitional funding', i.e. not long-term funding. In addition, statutory services like street sweeping, litter collection and grass cutting are to be transferred in 2013/14.
"My concern, and that of other councillors and indeed other councils, is the issue of double taxation. Transfer is the way to avoid this, but people should realise that the money saved by Cheshire East in transferring the burden of provision to local councils is not going to be returned through lower Council Tax levels, or at least no-one is saying that it will. I would have thought it would be broadcast loud and clear if that was the case, which Council is going to keep silent on reductions to tax bills?
"So the question is what will they spend it on, and how much will the overall level of taxation rise, because we will have to increase the precept or lose the service.
"Councillor Fitzgerald wrote a letter in March 2010 in which he said "We will also enter into a dialogue to distinguish those Town and Parish Councils who are comfortable in being local delivery points of service" and "if sufficient interest is demonstrated to maintain and locally run functions then we are interested in negotiating mutually acceptable terms of transfer". Where is the comfort? and where are the mutually acceptable terms? This has now become compulsory, take it or lose it. That's what I am unhappy about."
Councillor Williamson, with the support of the other councillors, will be sending a letter to Cheshire East Council regarding the transfer of assets and services to request a meeting to discuss the proposals further.
Attached are the minutes of June's Parish Council meeting which can be read in full.
