Samford Report for January Meetings

Suffolk’s rural communities hit by loss of £3 million in Government funding
£3 million of vital public funding – designed to support rural communities in Suffolk – will be cut by the government
next year, it has been revealed.The funding, known as the Rural Services Grant (RSG), was introduced in 2016/17 to
support councils who serve rural communities and sparsely populated areas where it costs significant amounts of
money to deliver public services. Suffolk County Council will, from April 2024, no longer receive the grant. The
government announced last week that the funding will be redirected elsewhere – adversely impacting rural areas
like Suffolk.Nationally, the Rural Services Grant is worth £110 million a year to rural communities. Other counties,
including Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire and Northumberland have also spoken out about the removal of the rural grant.
Suffolk and East of England councils seek fairness in the face of energy projects
Suffolk County Council is joining with other local authorities in the region to challenge National Grid and the
government on energy projects, demanding fairness for their communities and environment.The county councils
from Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk and Lincolnshire all face similar challenges with Nationally Significant Infrastructure
Projects (NSIPs) being planned for their counties.These are typically related to energy projects, including solar farms,
wind turbines, pylons and the infrastructure associated offshore wind farms, such as substations and cabling.
Two of Suffolk County Council’s main concerns, shared with the other counties, are:
• The uncoordinated approach to NSIPs – this is creating significant challenges for Suffolk’s rural communities
under the current planning policy as applied by the planning inspectorate and Secretary of State

• The government’s 2030 target for decarbonising the electricity grid – this is too hasty, making it Suffolk
County Council has had a longstanding position to support the need for low carbon energy to provide energy
security for the country, and the progress to net zero – but not at any cost.
Suffolk councillors to consider devolution and council reorganisation
Suffolk County Council will hold an extraordinary meeting of councillors, and a meeting of its Cabinet, to debate and
then decide on whether or not to put Suffolk forward for the government’s new devolution and reorganisation
programme.
The government has required that formal notice be given if Suffolk wishes to be part of the Devolution Priority
Programme by 10 January 2025. Therefore, the meetings, both to be held on 9 January 2025, will see all 75
councillors’ debate and vote on a proposal to recommend Suffolk is at the front of the queue. Following the Full
Council meeting, the Cabinet will make a final decision.On 16 December, the Government published its much-
anticipated English Devolution White Paper, outlining plans for broader and deeper devolution coupled with a
programme of coordinated local government reorganisation.
Key to the proposals is a reorganisation of council structures, particularly in two-tier areas like Suffolk, with a shift
away from district, borough and county councils towards unitary councils. The government argues that unitary
councils can deliver better outcomes for residents and save money that can be reinvested in public services.For most
areas, the government says that this means creating councils serving populations of 500,000 or more, with
exceptions where they make practical sense.
Alongside reorganisation, the government is also proposing to create new Mayoral Authorities – with a single
directly elected Mayor covering larger geographies (for example Norfolk and Suffolk) and with powers over strategic
policy areas like transport infrastructure, health improvement and blue light services.At this stage, no decisions have
been made about what will happen in Suffolk.