Council leader welcomes Gove's devolution support

Councillor Phillippa Williamson, leader of Lancashire County Council. has welcomed Michael Gove's support for a devolution deal for the county.

The Levelling Up Secretary's remarks were made during a keynote speech at this year's Convention of the North, in which he said that he wanted to see more devolution powers being made available to counties in the north and he was looking forward to discussions with Lancashire leaders later this year.
Coun Phillippa Williamson, who is the chair of the Lancashire's Leaders group as well as leader of the county council, also appeared on the main stage at the event as part of a debate about Northern Promise: Assets and Opportunities.

During the debate she spoke of her determination to ensure the voices of Lancashire communities and individuals would be heard at every level of government.

She also outlined how the county's leaders were focussed on common priorities where they will make the most difference by working together within Lancashire and across the North. She also explained how tackling issues through the Lancashire 2050 framework, which was published in November and is supported by the county's 15 borough, district, unitary and county councils, would ensure real progress could be made.

Coun Williamson said: "Events like the Convention of the North are important as they give us an opportunity to look at the common issues which we face in the North, but more importantly we can focus on the solutions to these problems.

"We have much to be proud of in Lancashire, but we are also very ambitious for our future as we know we have so much more to offer and events like this help us to spread this message.

"Devolution is one of the ways we know we can attract extra investment into the areas which we think are the most important, which include employment and skills, better housing, transport and infrastructure, early years and education, and health and wellbeing.

"I very much look forward to picking up our discussions with Mr Gove and Levelling Up Minister Dehenna Davison later this year, and I am very pleased he is equally looking forward to talking to Lancashire's leaders."