Question 4: To what extent do you agree or disagree that working across the proposed geography through the Mayoral Combined Authority will improve social outcomes in the area?
Answer: Strongly agree
Please explain your answer.
Cumberland Council has put the health and wellbeing of our residents at the centre of everything we do, and we have committed to addressing inequalities in our Council Plan – the role of a Mayoral Combined Authority in supporting these aims is positive.
The proposal to ensure that Mayoral Combined Authorities consider health and wellbeing in the full scope of their decision-making is very welcome. The duty to consider health and wellbeing in all MCA policies and decision-making is critical. Integration of health and wellbeing into strategic policymaking and planning could play a big part in addressing the significant workforce challenges that constrain current and future economic growth in the county.
A healthy population is a pre-determinant of inclusive economic growth.
There is also the opportunity of working through the proposed MCA to enhance current health and care collaboration and planning. Cumbria has a complex health and care organisational landscape. The opportunity to work together through an MCA in relation to community and primary care services is a timely one. Collectively, we need to understand the implications of current changes in relation to the capacity of Integrated Care Systems and Boards. Both council areas within Cumbria currently work across ICS / ICB boundaries leading to complicated and resource-intensive process and collaboration – for the councils and for the health bodies.
Exploring how working together through an MCA could address some of those challenges, particularly in relation to primary and community health services, in the context of resource challenges in all the relevant organisations would be something to consider.
The proposed role of the MCA in leading local nature recovery is also welcome. This will help to align further the role of the environment in health and wellbeing, and in realising the social benefits of a thriving local economy. Our environment is a social asset as well as an economic one, with significant potential to play a bigger role in supporting a bigger and healthier workforce.
We understand that the MCA proposals are ‘a floor not a ceiling’, and we would welcome an ongoing dialogue with the Government to explore further how a developing and established MCA could play a more significant role in achieving environmental ambitions.
A Mayoral Combined Authority will also provide an opportunity to address the significant challenge of housing delivery at the required scale to meet housing targets in the context of Cumbria’s distinct geography. Development Corporation models could bring opportunities to support large development sites. This is a model currently being pursued in Cumberland to deliver the St Cuthbert’s Garden Village near Carlisle. The Garden Village project could result in 10,000 new homes over the next 30 years.
An enhanced relationship through the MCA with Homes England will also support accelerated housing delivery.
Incorporation of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner functions into a Cumbria MCA also provides great opportunities for better and more integrated strategic planning around community safety and policing. As with health and wellbeing, safer communities are important factors in enabling economic growth.