READERS of the Oxford Mail will have seen a lot in the news about increased devolution in England and the ever decreasing funding available to local government in recent times.

The aftermath of the Scottish referendum in September and the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement at the start of December has certainly led to a heating up of the debate in both of these areas.

Our proposal to work ever more closely with our neighbouring county councils in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire certainly stems from these debates.

Our hope is that by speaking with one voice on key issues we will be able to boost the economic prospects for nearly two million residents living across the heart of England.

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The central theme of our offer to Central Government is that the devolution of more powers currently held at Whitehall to the combination of our three councils would unlock further economic growth.

Our new ‘combined authority’ alliance focuses on our common economies of innovation, science, technology and creative industries.

Building on the established relationships between the three county-based local economic partnerships we are asking Central Government to allow joint new plans to be developed for transport; spatial planning and other key infrastructure; devolve employment and skills funding so employers’ needs can be properly met locally; support a devolved approach to the local trunk road network; incentivise the three councils so they properly benefit from encouraging new growth; give them enhanced powers over bus services and the ability to maximise public transport between key towns and cities.

We would also like to see legislation to deliver a new and more flexible governance structure tailored to suit such a bold arrangement.

By working together in this way we also stand a far better chance of getting what funding will be available from Central Government.

We are expecting more than 80,000 new jobs to be created in Oxfordshire by 2031, many of them resulting from the world-class science and technology know how in the county.

This will be a major boost to our local economy but the economic benefits are not confined within county borders so it is critical that we work together with our neighbours.

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The councils also want a greater say on future improvements to the A34

By joining up with our neighbours Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire, I believe we stand a far better chance of improving transport links in a co-ordinated and strategic way so that we can better connect people, jobs and homes.

The ongoing East-West Rail plan that will see Oxford and Bicester once again linked by rail to Milton Keynes and ultimately places further east is a tangible example of what can be delivered when strategic planning is managed well by co-operating neighbours.

Our Tri-County Alliance is an exciting prospect and we are very much looking forward to developing the detail in coming months.

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