It will be another busy year for local government in 2025.
Many councils will be affected by the Government’s devolution agenda, with local government reorganisation being a key component of this, including forced unitary arrangements in currently two-tier areas. I continue to believe that it should be up to local councils, not Whitehall, to decide how they are governed.
In addition, forcing unitary arrangements risks distracting councils from working with the Government on issues we all care about, such as providing more genuinely affordable housing.
On a different matter, there is the issue of social care. Since 1997, the BBC reports, there have been three government commissions, three independent commissions, five white papers and 14 parliamentary committee inquiries into adult social care.
We all know what needs doing, but if there has to be another commission, it should be cross-party, report within the year (as Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey has said), and the Government must commit to implementation. Liberal Democrats stand ready and eager to bring our ideas to the table – but we can’t afford to wait three more years for a new plan.
We’re worried that what’s been announced looks like an excuse to kick the can down the road for another decade. That would be unforgivable for the care of our elderly and disabled people.