Cumberland Council to focus on health and wellbeing

The first meeting of the new council was held in May

A new local authority has said the health and wellbeing of residents will be at the heart of everything it does.

Cumberland Council will replace Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland as one of two unitary authorities taking over from Cumbria County Council next year.

It is currently operating as a shadow authority, and has now agreed what it says is an "ambitious" four-year plan.

This follows a consultation involving members of the public, staff, as well as local partners and organisations.

The council said it would focus on four key areas - the first would be making Cumberland a fairer place by tackling inequality and exclusion in all aspects of society, including racism.

'Road map'

It wants to be a "high-performing organisation which provides excellent, efficient and enterprising services for everyone", it said.

Councillor Bob Kelly, shadow executive member with responsibility for policy and performance, said: "The health and wellbeing of the people of Cumberland will be at the heart of everything we do.

"We'll engage better with our communities and look to involve them as much as possible in how we provide services for them."

He added: "This is a working document.

"It will be reviewed and amended as we progress over the coming years, but this is very much a road map outlining how we want that journey to proceed."