Benn pledges new powers for councils

摘要

Shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn has vowed to give county councils a raft of new powers if they organise themselves into regions. Speaking at the County Councils Network (CCN) annual conference this week, Mr Benn said he looked forward to the first county combined authority and urged delegates to 'get yourselves organised'. Despite his enthusiasm for combined county authorities, he insisted nobody would be forced into joining up to access more powers. Mr Benn vowed to introduce a Devolution Bill to Parliament, listing transport, housing and skills as areas where Labour would decentralise power. He insisted that 'devolved accountability' would have to go hand-in-hand with devolved powers.