What would devolution mean for Suffolk?

Suffolk County Council said it was holding an "impartial" consultation to gather opinions on the deal

Devolution in Suffolk has been spoken about for decades - but will it happen and will it make a difference?

It would see extra funding and powers transferred from the government to Conservative-run Suffolk County Council.

It could see a publicly elected council leader, with the authority receiving an extra £16m a year and also taking control of the adult education budget.

A public consultation is due to finish on 26 May, with a final decision expected in July.

What would Suffolk get from devolution?

While the government oversees the UK as a whole, it passes some decisions down.

That can be to nations or areas of the country.

Suffolk County Council and the government have agreed a deal that was approved in 2022.

The headlines of that deal are:

• £16m a year in extra funding for next 30 years

• Control over the adult education budget

• £5.8m in one-off funding to prepare brownfield sites for development

Suffolk County Council said extra funding, totaling £480m, would not be coming to the county if the deal was not agreed.

The money is not inflation linked, so if inflation were to rise, the overall value would decrease.

The council would get a directly elected leader, although they would not be called a mayor.

Currently the group with a majority at the council decide who leads the authority.

A vote on the leader would likely take place in May 2025.

The council's current budget for this financial year is £752.8m.

Will devolution actually happen?

In short, probably.

Months of negotiations have taken place between the council and the government to get to this point.

If the deal is rejected, it would mean negotiations would have to start again or the idea scrapped.

But the council said it was not a sure thing.

A public consultation has been running for around 10 weeks and Conservative leader Matthew Hicks insisted people's views would be taken into account.

He said: “This is an important decision about the future we want for Suffolk.

"The consultation closes on 26 May, so I urge everyone to take time to read the details of the proposed deal and then have their say."

And there is the impending general election to take into account.

A new government could be in place and it coulddecide they want to agree its own deal.

Labour has said it was pro-devolution.

Council leader Matthew Hicks said a "choice of this significance deserves considered input from the broadest possible range of people"

Not everyone is a fan of the deal.

Conservative county councillor Sam Murray said: "We don't want a directly elected leader and the money is small in council terms."

Labour's candidate to be Ipswich MP, Jack Abbott, said: "The deal currently on the table is little more than a sticking plaster, and could result in a political stalemate for nearly half a decade."

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