Civil Service Local is pleased to have partnered with the Constitution Group to deliver several interactive Discovery Sessions on Devolution and why it should matter to you.
The sessions will look at the history of devolution in the UK and what it means for civil servants today. It will explore the complexities surrounding the devolution settlements across the UK and consider how EU Exit is changing the way devolution works in practice.
This is not just a session for those living in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but for everyone across the UK. It will give you a real sense of why devolution matters, the current challenges driving our work and the role that civil servants will play in shaping devolution and governance across the UK in the coming years. Please do join us for this exciting opportunity by signing up to one of the sessions listed below:
- North West, Bootle - 17 September, 10:30am to 12:30pm
- South West, Bristol - 9 October, 10:30am to 12:30pm
- North East, Yorks & Humber, Sheffield - 25 October, 10:30am to 12:30pm
- London, East and South East, London - 29 October, 10:30am to 12:30pm
- North West, Manchester - 11 November, 10:30am to 12:30pm
If you have an questions about these events please email me
5 comments
Comment by Rhys posted on
Hosting all of these sessions on devolution in England is certainly an interesting choice.
Comment by John Mark Haskey posted on
Hi Rhys, we have run sessions in Cardiff (February) and Scotland (end of last year). Our work in Northern Ireland is fairly young and other subjects may have priority. I will ask the organisers of these sessions about further plans for the future.
Comment by Heather Flanagan posted on
Hi Rhys, Scotland did a session end of last year as John Haskey has mentioned and we are currently planning another later this year which will also include the perspective from the Department for International Development who have a base in Scotland.
Comment by Rob Cater posted on
Will the event cover the reasons for devolution? As a member of a large department, devolution can cause a number of issues. It's more expensive and results in duplication of effort, as well as additional overheads. The case for devolution appears to be entirely political, so it would be interesting to know how it is justified vs increased centralisation of services?
Comment by John Mark Haskey posted on
Hi Rob, please note the following comment from the Cabinet Office UK Devolution Strategy Division
"We will be covering the reasons for devolution in the sessions. As a brief answer to the question, devolution was introduced to move decision making closer to the people who are directly impacted. It is unlikely that policy officials based in Westminster would have as good a local knowledge as people based there. Whilst I would agree that devolution has produced some extra costs, such as new Parliaments being built in Edinburgh and Cardiff and in having an extra set of politicians, overall, there have been a lot of improvements in terms of services provided."
Hope this helps address some of your concerns and I'm sure there will be opportunities for discussion at the session. rgds John