Devolution.
Campaigning around the election is gathering pace. One thing is clear whichever party gets in the commitment to devolution appears to be safe.
Unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds from central Government to be used by regional leaders, who know their own communities and what they need and want, is a positive thing to do.
Labour has promised to continue the commitment to devolution created by the current government if elected. The 3 newly elected Mayors, York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, the East Midlands, Claire Ward, and Kim McGuinness in the North East, are all Labour.
Twelve metro mayors, including the Mayor of London, collectively control upwards of £25bn of public spending. A huge amount of money and a significant amount of responsibility.
Significant change does come with devolution as we saw in West Yorkshire when the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner moved into the Mayoral Combined Authority.
Increased visibility from the Mayor of West Yorkshire and the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in West Yorkshire, who are heading up really exciting projects to keep communities safe and early intervention projects to help keep people away from a path of criminality, can only be a good thing .
Raising awareness of vital work being done to retain public confidence.
For me, what does need to be considered as we board the devolution train, or bus, depending on what public transport you use, we need to be mindful of keeping those close links with parters including the police force you are holding to account and your local communities who seek reassurance.
I say this because as Police and Crime Commissioner offices morph into a much larger organisation, (Mayor’s lead large combined authorities) those crucial links may come a bit loose.
Not intentionally but as you get absorbed, the nimbleness might be lost, and key relationships you may have built over a number of years with partners. Simply because of the enormity and corporate nature of where you now find yourself.
When you are an office of say 30 as many Police and Crime Commissioner offices are, it is easy to make sure you are maintaining that link with the force and your communities.
But as combined authorities expand, taking on fire and rescue and policing, the relationships that existed before between smaller offices can be diluted. Communications is a key part of this.
The grassroots communications and links between political offices and say, policing, that existed might now change. This does not have to be a bad thing, if handled effectively.
It may be that with devolution the community reassurance and joined up messages get lost in a wider framework or context. At a time when actually public confidence in policing doesn’t appear to be what it was.
National stories and headlines are important but the local nature, confidence and reassurance needs to be there. That is essential to maintain. And I believe it is the responsibility of experienced communication professionals to lobby for.
Expansion, although positive, can lead to fragmentation if not managed well.
At a time when what society needs, is the reassurance which comes fundamentally from communications professionals transmitting the crucial stories out and also providing the public reassurance.
Do you recognise these challenges? DM or email me at dee@dcowburncomms.co.uk for a chat to see how I can help you navigate them.
