At its next meeting, the councils' Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee (JOSC) will be looking at LGR and asking Paul Brewer, the chief executive of Adur & Worthing Councils, as well as Adur District Council leader Jeremy Gardner and Worthing Borough Council leader Caroline Baxter, about the progress of the planned move to a unitary system of local government. 

Earlier this month the government announced it would be pausing and reviewing the LGR programme in 15 areas, including the proposals for West Sussex, and withdrawing decisions already made in four other areas following updated legal advice.

Last year West Sussex local authorities worked together to submit proposals for LGR that included both a single unitary option, and a two-unitary option that would see one authority covering Horsham, Crawley and Mid Sussex, and one covering Chichester, Arun, Worthing and Adur. The government also consulted on an Adur, Worthing and Arun option.

No timetable has yet been provided for the review or for a decision on the future of local government in West Sussex, but the government has said it is working at pace to review these decisions and will report back to Parliament at the earliest opportunity. 

JOSC is an elected watchdog, comprising councillors from across Adur and Worthing, and is responsible for holding decision-makers - both within and outside the councils - to account.

Councillor Joss Loader, the Adur chair of JOSC, said: “These changes represent the biggest shake-up in local government, locally, for more than 50 years. There is now considerable uncertainty about the future of Adur & Worthing Councils - and the shape of local democracy overall - and we’d very much welcome the public’s input on this crucial issue.”

Councillor Carl Walker, the Worthing chair of JOSC, said: “Many residents are understandably seeking clarity about what LGR could mean for Worthing and our communities. At a time when there is uncertainty about the future structure of local councils, it is vital that people are kept informed, have the chance to raise concerns and can contribute their ideas. The future of local government should be shaped with residents, not just for residents, and this meeting is an important opportunity for people to make their voices heard.”

Also up for discussion will be an update on the delivery of Adur & Worthing Councils’ Fair, Green and Local corporate strategy, including the inclusion of a new priority area called Pride in Place.   

By focusing visible improvements through partnership and community action, Pride in Place aims to help communities become more self-supporting by enabling them to care for and increasingly shape the places they live.  

The meeting takes place from 6.30pm on Thursday 1st October at The Shoreham Centre, and the committee is inviting residents to take part by sending in questions ahead of the meeting for the public question time section.

Questions on both topics can be submitted to the committee by emailing [email protected] by midday on Monday 28th September.  

To find out more about LGR, visit https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/devolution/. 

The inclusion of Pride in Place into the Fair, Green and Local corporate strategy was discussed at a meeting of the Joint Strategic Committee earlier this month. Listen back or read the report here: https://democracy.adur-worthing.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=159&MId=2347