Neil Wedge attended a meeting of Dorset Council's overview committee last week.
I rarely get asked to attend overview committees but happily did so last week as Dorset Council was considering the Statement of Reasonable Expectations (SoRE) before it is put to Cabinet at the December meeting as a basis for working with parish and town councils. The idea of such a document, often called a ‘charter’, dates back to when I joined DAPTC in April 2020. Nearly three years ago, at a councillor event, the overriding steer from 90 delegates was to keep it short. In 2023 our AGM members asked us to press on with a charter with a view to submitting it to Dorset Council. We made this submission alongside the A Fresh Start report in March this year.
The overview committee discussion was challenging, largely because Dorset Councillors didn’t focus on the agenda item but on the details involved like devolution. It demonstrated to me that Dorset Councillors need some time to understand the broader picture of devolution and the work underway internally around double devolution and local community governance. Cabinet will consider these matters on 9 December.
With this in mind, I have suggested to the Leader of Dorset Council that the SoRE not be considered by Cabinet in December but be delayed to the next meeting in early January, after all Dorset Councillors have been properly briefed. I'd rather have the item properly understood and agreed so implementation can be a success for all parties.
We continue with our plans to put the SoRE to members at our AGM on 31 January 2026.
