Police commissioner blocked from devolution discussions

Alison Hernandez thinks it's 'obnoxious'

Police commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Alison Hernandez is miffed that she has been left out of discussions about making the south west a superpower authority.

And she fears that the Isles of Scilly will get neglected if Devon and Cornwall take the lead in a large strategic body.

She’s told the panel that scrutinises her work that she finds it “obnoxious” that she’s not included in the conversations about devolving powers from Westminster, considering her remit covers the whole of the region in question.

The police and crime commissioner’s role is to hold the chief constable to account for the performance of the force, and includes driving initiatives, pushing for funding and setting the police budget.

But the commissioner’s job in the future could be swallowed up by an elected mayor who will sit at the head of a  large strategic authority covering around 1.5 million residents – if the government approves the concept.

Cornwall, however, has made it clear it will resist merging with Devon and wants to retain its identity.

Devon’s biggest authorities, by contrast, including the county council, and Plymouth and Torbay unitary councils, are generally for it, although not all councillors are on board. The eight smaller districts don’t much like the idea of being abolished.

Ms Hernandez told the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel on Friday that her office had made representations to the government, pointing out that she might be the person who knew the most about Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

She said councillors on the panel might also want to take that thought back to their leaders.

“I also want to say that the Isles of Scilly is a place, and everyone who is talking about a mayor for Devon and Cornwall needs to be respecting the Isles of Scilly.

“I police it with the chief constable operationally, and I make sure we have the right resources in place – and one of the things for me is I am worried about the neglect of the Isles of Scilly in the conversations.”

She said she is “quite excited” by the government pressing ahead quickly with local government reorganisation, but the public has to be aware there would be cost implications as “governance costs money”.

“As someone who covers that whole area, having less people to have to speak to to get something done would be an efficiency and would make it more effective,” she said.

She praised Cornwall which she said is “such a joy and a pleasure to work with because it is “so proactive”.

“They are on my case every five minutes. The one next to that which is very vocal is Plymouth. Everyone else is much more silent,” she said.

Devolution transfer powers, funding and decisions normally held by central government to local authorities.

Plymouth City Council leader Cllr Tudor Evans (Lab, Ham) said it makes sense to have a south west peninsula authority, as the two counties share many of the same issues and responsibilities, and would be ” a strong voice” in Westminster.