In my time as an elected politician and as a Minister in government, I have come to develop a real respect and appreciation for those who work in public service. Of course, there are those who have a real passion for teaching, serve in the Armed Forces, practice medicine, or work in the care sector, each doing a tremendous service for our county and dedicating their lives to helping others.
However, there are also those working in decision-making roles at the local level as well as in national government. This is not just limited to those who are elected, such as councilors, but also local council officers, public servants working for government agencies, and civil servants. They tend to get appreciated less and get fewer thanks for their efforts by virtue of the fact that they often have to take difficult decisions and balance competing pressures with a limited budget, but there are times when they, too, should be recognised.
Recently, Cornwall Council was nominated for the annual award of Council of the Year by the Local Government Chronicle (LGC). I think it is the first time that Cornwall Council has ever been shortlisted and it is a testament to the progress that the Council has made and the creativity that it has shown in addressing some really difficult problems like housing shortages and transport over the last few years.
On housing, there has been pressure on local housing for local people for many years which is caused by a complex combination of second home ownership in many coastal villages, family breakdown causing family units to fracture, and more people seeking to retire to Cornwall. The effect has been to make it increasingly difficult for people who live in Cornwall to get access to the housing they need and because we are a narrow peninsula with a beautiful landscape that we do not want to scar, we must proceed with caution and sensitivity when it comes to new developments. The Covid pandemic pushed this longstanding problem to new heights as private landlords withdrew and more people saw the attraction of living somewhere as beautiful as Cornwall.
Cornwall Council has shown great creativity in developing a response to this challenge with new modular homes to house those in temporary accommodation and new measures to curtail second home ownership. Cornwall has also led the way in developing some creative ideas on transport with new initiatives to introduce lower, fixed fares on buses to drive up the number of passengers and new schemes to improve connectivity within Cornwall and also between Cornwall and the rest of the country.
With the Council of the Year Award, the LGC to seeks to recognise and celebrate the absolute best in local government, and as this year’s shortlist shows there is no shortage of new ideas and fresh thinking across the whole host of council services. The Councils in this awards category include Barnsley MBC, Buckinghamshire Council, Inverclyde Council, Salford City Council and West Lindsey DC, and of course Cornwall Council. I hope that Cornwall wins, but whatever happens next let's take a chance to pause and congratulate all those who do their best to deliver within the Council in some challenging times.
