Leicestershire County Council signs 'thin gruel' devolution deal

Leicestershire County Council leader Nick Rushton said some form of devolution deal was better than nothing

The leader of Leicestershire County Council says he has agreed to a lesser devolution deal in a bid to secure extra government funding.

Nick Rushton said the authority had joined Leicester City Council and Rutland County Council in bidding for a level three deal - the top tier.

However he said they had settled for a level two deal as it did not require an elected mayor for all three areas.

The leader told a meeting: "Thin gruel is better than no gruel."

While a level two arrangement does not require an elected mayor, it also promises less investment.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said as a result the Better Care Fund for children and young people - a £200m scheme aimed at providing more joined up care - would not now be able to go ahead.

'Foot in the door'

Mr Rushton told the meeting all three authorities had now signed up for a level two deal.

He said: "Level three isn't available to us as we cannot find agreement on a directly elected mayor. So the next best thing that we can agree is a level two deal.

"Myself, Sir Peter Soulsby [Leicester mayor] and the leader of Rutland have now signed up. We are now in for a level two deal.

"I've been told by all the Conservative MPs in Leicestershire, plus the odd Labour MP, 'get your foot in the door'.

"If we're not in the door with some sort of devolution deal, we'll never get anything anyway.

"So although it's described as thin gruel, in my view thin gruel is better than no gruel at all and at least we've made a start."

The council will need to wait for the Levelling Up White Paper to pass through Parliament and gain assent before they know exactly what a level two bid will mean for them.

Sir Peter Soulsby had dismissed the idea of a shared mayor as "daft"