This woman is about to shape Gloucestershire’s future
With the county facing an uncertain future leadership is more critical than ever. As Liz Spivey prepares to lead us to the post-devolution promised land, she gives her views on the challenges ahead.
Dear reader,
In the early stages of the battle to decide how the future of Gloucestershire’s local Government will shape up the new leader of the county council confirms what has been apparently to anyone watching the devolution debate so far - that ‘people have not been working together’.
But in a wide-ranging interview with friend of The Raikes Journal, Ian Mean, council leader Lisa Spivey says it is now clear how the decision about Gloucestershire’s councils will be reconfigured will be made. And who will make it.
The priority, says Spivey, and her focus, is actually not that decision at all - it’s ensuring local authorities are ready for when devolution comes so services “do not fall apart”.
Spivey also answers questions about where the county will find a partner outside of Gloucestershire to make that new all-powerful local authority happen, and she tackles questions about skills, what services she will fight to protect as the county faces a challenging budget and more.
Mean quizzes her on the need to reform the planning system, what is happening with the strategic plan for Gloucestershire, the crucial Junction 9 at Tewkesbury - key to so much development planned for the county, and she talks about apprenticeships and the possibility of nuclear power becoming a key economic driver.
Is it the clearest site of leadership and vision in Gloucestershire for some time? You can decide by reading the full big read below.
Have a great week.
Best regards,
Andrew Merrell (editor).
Your briefing notes…
. Delays to The Forum in Gloucester cost the taxpayer nearly £0.5m: Delays to Gloucester’s flagship The Forum development, the eye-catching new office, retail and leisure space near King’s Square, have cost the taxpayer £450,000 so far.
. Cheltenham residents to be asked if they want a town council: As Gloucestershire moves towards a revolution that will determine just who runs the county, Cheltenham residents are to be asked if they still want a town council to represent them.
. Decision on 24 hour town centre gambling shop: Despite more than 20 objections a licence has been granted allowing a Cheltenham town centre adult gaming business to stay open 24 hours a day.
Charity of the week: Get your hands on a £60,000 grant!
Gloucestershire-headquartered educational charity, the Ernest Cook Trust, is offering a grant worth up to £60,000 for charitable and non-profit organisations in Gloucestershire committed to getting young people outdoors.
The grant – capped at £20,000 a year, spread across three years – will go towards funding the salary of an ‘outdoor learning leader’, whose goal is to promote the benefits of getting outdoors to young people and their wider communities.
This round of the Outdoor Learning Leader Grant is open only to charitable and non-profit organisations in Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Cumbria/Lancashire and /Wiltshire/Bath/Bristol – regions where the Ernest Cook Trust has its own land and/or outdoor learning leaders.
“We know that inspirational role models are key to helping young people form lasting connections with the natural environment.
“This is why we prioritise charities and organisations whose approach is to encourage young people to enjoy the outdoors and engage with nature,” said Suzie Paton, the trust’s director of learning, grants and partnerships.
Formerly known as outdoor learning officers, the Trust has funded dozens of posts across the UK since launching the grant in 2020. More than £1.8 million has been allocated to date.
The deadline for registering an expression of interest is Friday October 31. More here.
Diary Dates…
Tuesday
There is a social brunch for start-ups networking session at Stroud Growth Hub due to take place from 9.30am to 11am on Tuesday 21 October.
Wednesday
Gloucestershire Junior Lawyers Division - Halloween Quiz is due to take place on Wednesday 22 October from 7pm to 10.30pm at Storyteller Bar, North Place, Cheltenham.
The Royal Agricultural University is due to stage a public lecture on the urgent need for sustainable farming practices. Due to take place on Wednesday 22 October.
Thursday
Willans LLP solicitors is due to stage a special seminar - Real Estate unlocked: from lease terms to litigation seminar - on Thurday October 23.
Hub8, the Cheltenham town centre hangout for all things cyber, is staging another of its Cyber Sips networking events on Thursday 23 October from 8.30am.
If you would like an event or diary date featured, please email me: andrew.merrell@raikesjournal.co.uk.
* It is a digital magazine and community interest company whose supporters believe, like us, that journalism about Gloucestershire is worth keeping alive. Everything you read here - original stories about our county - is made possible by our incredible Founding Partners: QuoLux, Willans LLP, Gloucestershire College, Merrell People and Randall & Payne; our sponsors, Founding Members and wonderful paying subscribers.
If you upgrade to paid you’ll be part of this CIC too. We’re dedicated to championing the county, its businesses, charities, education and training providers, and to creating an even stronger community. And you’ll be able to see past the paywalls often put on our 2cnd and 3rd email editions of the week, that lock our archive and our Top 100 Businesses in Gloucestershire series. You’ll be able to comment on our stories too.
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This woman is about to shape Gloucestershire’s future
With Gloucestershire facing a most uncertain future leadership is more critical than ever. As Liz Spivey prepares to lead us to the promised land post-devolution, she talks to Ian Mean about the challenges ahead.
The seven councils now controlling Gloucestershire face abolition as part of the government’s radical devolutioon process for local government.
Against this uncertain background, Ian Mean puts the questions on key issues facing the county to the new county council Liberal Democrat leader, Lisa Spivey (pictured above).
Gloucestershire’s main options for the future are either one or two unitaries and their decision on which of these has to be with Government for November 28.
Our councils have no choice, apparently. The Government’s decision is final.
IM: Are you going to nail your colours to the mast about local government devolution? Shouldn’t we have just one unitary for Gloucestershire?
LS: “Oh, in short, yes, I will at some point be nailing my colours to the mast. It’s not going to be today, but I’ll let you know where I am at.
“Others, you know, amongst our district partners- Cheltenham in particular- are championing the two unitary option. But in that space, until I became the leader, it was really fractious, really contentious and people weren’t working together.
“So, when I came on board, I also recognised that ultimately this is not a decision that is going to be made in Shire Hall- in fact - anywhere in the county.
“This is a decision that’s going to be made in Whitehall and having watched, you know what happened in Somerset, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.
“For example, where Somerset said we want two and got one. North Yorkshire got one and Cumbria said we want one and got two so it’s not ours to decide.
IM: So, what is your personal preference?
LS: “I think that the wrapper almost, in a way , doesn’t really matter. So, whether it’s one or two, it’s about the delivery of the services. But you know, I’m a Liberal Democrat and I really believe in local government being really local, so as close to people as possible.
“For me, what I’m really trying to work through at the moment now is that we do have everybody on board, and with that realisation that no matter what we do in Gloucestershire, what goes to government is that they’ll decide.
“We’ll have to actually do it. So,it might be one or it might be two. You know, I don’t think the Gloucester City proposal is going to be a realistic one.
“You know, I’ve got great admiration for Jeremy (Jeremy Hilton, the Lib Dem City Council Leader) for championing that third option- good for him.
“He’ll die in a ditch before he stands up and says I believe that Gloucester City Council should be abolished and huge respect to him.
“It’s a 50/50 chance- whether it’ll be one or two. I’m probably veering towards it’s easier if it’s just one because of adult social care.
“We are better together and actually, is that easier if we are one county and one unitary? Probably.
“But if Government decides, like they did in Cumbria, that they want us to be two, because people are chatting and I’ve got MPs that are being quite vocal.
“Then I want to make sure that we have got in train enough of an implementation road map to make sure that services don’t fall apart. When I came in I said, right guys, I want all seven council leaders to work together.
“There has to be a reality check that we’re going to have to do this and that’s been really well received.
“As seven councils we are all working on the one option and the two option. We’re also data sharing with Gloucester City to provide them with information for their submission, but we’re not actively all doing that one.
And then to full council so that we’re all aligned by the 28th of November.”
IM: Gloucestershire is now going to need a partner in this wider devolution process. Where will that come from?
LS:“I think we’re clear and I think mostly across the county with some small exceptions that WECCA (The West of England Combined Authority) is the only way.
“It just makes sense on so many levels- the Integrated Care Board clustering and there are the health partners plus everything to do with the economy which only looks South. It’s the best solution for business because business looks towards Bristol.
“For me it’s an absolute no-brainer, but again, not our decision. So, another decision that’s going to be made in Whitehall and politics will get involved.”
IM: Nuclear at Berkeley and Oldbury is a big opportunity to grow our economy.
Does your new administration support the government’s policy on the new SMRs (small, medium nuclear reactors), given that Oldbury is likely to be developed as an SMR park and deliver zero carbon energy?
LS: “I think our party are clear on that we’re not against New Nuclear. I think what we are concerned about though, clearly, is about that you generate nuclear waste which has got 1000(Check) years minimum.”
IM: Do you support the science and technology park proposal for Berkeley given the investment and high tech jobs that its going to bring for Gloucestershire and whatever happens with the government nuclear decision on Oldbury which is just four miles away?
LS: “There’s going to be linkage there and there’s already firms coming into Berkeley, of course. It will be a government decision on nuclear and we’re hearing that the site in Wales might be more favoured so it goes out of our hands.
“However, if it doesn’t, it will be private companies and they’re already looking at that with products like medical isotopes- fantastic.
“Why would we not want to do that? So, I think absolutely we would be supporting that and our focus as the County Council in particular will be trying to ensure that those jobs get the skills that are required and that we can work with.
“You know, our further education providers, our universities and colleges need to make sure that we aren’t just bringing people in to take those really high-skilled, high-wage jobs.
“That’s going to take time. There’s always a supply chain and If we don’t have those skills right now, we have to build them.”
IM: With so much pressure on local government, how are you going to keep your manifesto promises ,and are you going to be actually forced to cut services?
“I hope we can keep our promises but we do face huge financial challenges. We inherited a budget that had baked in savings of £10 million that we’re going to have to find next year.
“We are living in unstable times from the government point of view. What we are committed to doing though, is to treat every pound like it’s your own is what I’ve said to our staff and our senior directors.
“So, we are sort of forensically going through budgets. We have made a commitment to really tackling contract management, making sure we’re getting bang for our buck.”
IM: But is there then a bit of priority?
“What would you say are your top three things you’ve got to concentrate on ?
LS: “I think highways is a big issue. It’s what comes up on the doorstep again and again.
“And for us in a rural county, it’s not just a nice to have. It is absolutely vital for our local economy- for people to get places, to get to work, to get jobs.
“So, we must get a grip on our roads and make sure we are tackling that backlog of potholes.
“Adult social care is our biggest spend. It’s £224 million and the Care Quality Commission has found it requires improvement. We need to tackle that.”
IM: So transport, adult social care, what would be the third?
LS: “I think ensuring that we get good jobs, good skills and are really, really supporting that. And that starts from early years I mean literally. So, investing in family hubs, making sure that our children of reception age are coming to school ready to learn.
“And all of that right through to you wanting to change your life and retrain. What are the offers that we have?
“What is the offer that we have with you joining up with our partners and working with them to deliver that?
“Because, you know, I keep saying it over and over again, we’re all facing challenges. “In the public sector, we can’t do this on our own. Each of us, if we’re all working in
silos, nothing’s ever going to change. But if we all come together, we’ve got great skills, great knowledge and we can do that.”
IM: What’s your view on planning? Isn’t it in a mess? What are you going to do about planning? In terms of business, it’s probably the biggest issue they talk about?
LS: “I totally agree-planning’s a nightmare. I’m a district councillor as well so I know it literally from going to put up a conservatory or change your windows or whatever. It’s just really slow and it’s really bureaucratic. “
IM: Don’t we really need one strategic plan for Gloucestershire?
LS:“ Definitely, I would say so. Just look at the issues that Stroud has had over getting their local plan approved because there’s just nothing joined up. We definitely want to tackle that and I think it would make absolute sense for us all to be aligned.”
IM: A new Junction 9 at Tewkesbury is going to be the gateway to the new town community there with 20,000 people. Do you support that?
LS: “Yes I do. I think that if we are going to have this growth in Gloucestershire helping the government to deliver on its aims and ambitions, then of course we’re going to have to have infrastructure first.
“As you know, we’re really all working hard to try and get the Junction 10 finance gap approved.
“The next couple of months is vital to really know whether it’s going to go ahead or not. But you know, if this government is committed to growth and it is committed to delivering on housing, we are here. We’ve done everything that we can at local government level.
IM: I’m particularly interested in young people and apprenticeships and your new Connect to Work programme.
“One thing that bothers me are the latest figures- 17.5 per cent of people aged between 16 and 64 in Gloucestershire being economically inactive.
“And if you look at the figures of NEETS (Not in education, employment or training) they’re going up as well.
IM: What? What can your new £11 million government Connect to Work programme for the county do about that?
LS: “What is important is that we’re using that money to have real actual impact and practical impact. So, what does that mean? You know, I’d like to go to work, but I can’t.
“You know, I don’t know how to. I don’t have a bank account to get paid. It’s going to, you know, I have to wait four weeks to get paid.
“What am I going to do? So working through that, using the skills and expertise that we have, the things you just, know, or I might not even think about.
“But those are barriers to people to work, just, you know, getting that support, even if it’s just, I don’t know how to get there, how do I know what bus to get, you know?
So, using the resource and expertise that we’ve got, you know, we have a whole bunch of people down a commercial road.
“I’ve always been a doer. So, I always want to know what is the real practical action here. I always think strategies and things like that are lovely, pretty words on a bit of paper.
“Nobody ever writes a strategy or comes up with a scheme that says this is all going to be rubbish.”
*Ian Mean MBE is a former editor of the Western Daily Press and editor in chief of Gloucestershire Media. He is a director of the Gloucestershire County Council Economic Growth Board and a director of the Forest Economic Partnership (FEP).