Lincolnshire district council leaders have met with the Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Devolution, Dehenna Davison MP, to discuss a possible devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire.
In a joint statement the seven district council leaders said:
"All the Leaders expressed their thanks that the minister had taken the initiative in calling the meeting and were grateful that all their points of view were listened to and that the minister and her civil servants promised to take these into consideration in further discussions.
"The minister has undertaken to give a written response to the views expressed in the meeting and has promised both to keep us fully informed and to meet the district leaders again in due course.
"The leaders are particularly pleased by the minister’s assurances that any possible deal would be by local consent and not be imposed upon the people of Lincolnshire by central government."
The seven leaders are:
- Craig Leyland - Leader of East Lindsey DC
- Richard Wright - Leader of North Kesteven DC
- Nick Worth - Leader of South Holland DC
- Richard Cleaver - Leader of South Kesteven DC
- Anne Dorrian - Leader of Boston Borough Council
- Trevor Young - Leader of West Lindsey DC
- Donald Nannestad - Deputy Leader of the City of Lincoln Council
As a form of 'levelling-up', devolution is seen as an opportunity to secure more money to unlock more opportunities and to make more decisions locally. The principle is something that all of the Lincolnshire authorities are exploring together.