Sutton could merge with Kingstanding in shake-up

By john newton news reporter

Sutton's greater control over its own affairs could be coming to an end after six years.

In 2004, the delivery of Birmingham City Council services across the town was delegated to Sutton's 12 councillors, with responsibility for some budgets also falling under their control.

The move was part of a devolution model rolled out across the city, of which Sutton became part in 1974. But the council is now reviewing localised delegation, threatening Sutton's boosted powers.

One proposal calls for the city to be divided into four parts, with an "area committee" running each. A new North Birmingham Area Committee would mean fewer local councillors overseeing not only Sutton, but Erdington and Kingstanding.

Another idea pushes for even greater centralisation, redrawing service responsibility along departmental rather than local lines. Under this model, individual cabinet portfolio holders would oversee delivery of services across the city as a whole.

The council says it must rethink local governance, which has been divided along parliamentary constituency boundaries, because of the poor financial climate, the difficulties experienced by some constituencies in balancing budgets, and Government policies to target public expenditure.

Councillor Peter Howard was chairman of Sutton's self-managing Constituency Committee between 2004 and 2009. He told the Observer this week that the proposals were a "retrograde step".

His former committee, which now continues under the guidance of Cllr Anne Underwood, includes 12 councillors; all three from each of the four Sutton wards.

Erdington Constituency Committee has an identical set-up with three councillors representing each of the Erdington, Kingstanding, Tyburn and Stockland Green wards. Under proposals for a combined "area committee", just eight elected members – one from each ward – would juggle the issues of both constituencies side-by-side.

Cllr Howard said: "Constituency efforts have worked well in Sutton because while part of Birmingham, it remains unique amid the city as the only town. This has meant a unified constituency with a clear identity, which perhaps marks it out from others.

"I just couldn't see, therefore, a model which combined two constituencies going down well with residents of either.

"All these different areas are individually identified by people – to put a community together that doesn't really exist would not work."

He added: "Sutton's councillors won money for improvements to Wyndley, for example, by fighting at constituency level.

"What would happen if there was a wider area to fight for? It would no longer be 100 per cent Sutton fighting for Sutton; each area would be fighting for itself."

Since its launch, members of Sutton's Constituency Committee have represented a single party (Conservative). Cllr Howard said that while the body had achieved 'meaningful' results, the lack of party-political cut-and-thrust during meetings could, to the public, sometimes belie the committee's power.

Dr Rob Pocock (Lab), Sutton's highest-polling non-Conservative candidate in May's Local Elections, has been on the outside looking in during the committee's life-span. But he too said the city council's proposals were regrettable.

"I am just speechless," he said. "After all these years of promising greater powers for Sutton, we now have the Conservative City Council taking back even the limited budgets that had been handed down to us."

The proposals were highlighted in a report to the council's cabinet committee on Monday. The ideas will now be appraised during a period of formal consultation which lasts until November.

The report states: "The council's corporate management team is strongly advising that the current model of devolution is not sustainable as it stands and that urgent reform is required."

The report also suggests, however, that should greater centralisation be adopted, existing ward committees would likely remain – with Community Chest responsibility.