SOMERSET County Council and 19 partners have outlined their case for a devolution deal which they say would benefit the South West and the whole of the UK.

A ‘Statement of Intent’ - with key themes of cconomic growth, health, social care and wellbeing, and infrastructure and local resilience - has been submitted to the Government.

The document is not a fully worked-up proposal, but sets the scene for discussions with the Government about what powers could be devolved.

It has been prepared by Somerset and Devon local authorities and follows meetings held in August, kicked off by a devolution summit organised by Somerset County Council.

In total, 20 local partners are involved in the submission, which will have the support and endorsement of the business community through the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, which covers Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay.

Leader of Somerset Councty Council Cllr John Osman, who called the initial August summit, said: “A lot of authorities have done a lot of work in a very short time to prepare this document - that’s another example of what can be achieved when authorities in the region pull together where we have common ground.

“These are very early stages, but we are ambitious and believe that devolution would help us create jobs, build the right infrastructure and make progress on key issues like health and social care integration.

“We have shared goals with our partners and will be working very closely with them in the coming weeks and months to move things forward.”

Speaking on behalf of Somerset’s five district councils, Cllr John Williams, leader of Taunton Deane Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for all authorities across Somerset to accept devolved powers with budgets and demonstrate we can deliver improved outcomes for our community.

“In getting this joint statement together we have seen remarkable cross-council and cross-border working.

“With those shared aims already evident, it augurs well for the preparation of the fully worked up details for our devolution proposals yet to come.

“This is all about Somerset Councils working together to maximise opportunities to enable us to punch above our weight.

“The level of co-operation between all Somerset councils is to be applauded. We now have our statement of intent which sets out how we can take control of the all-important themes proposed and move to a fully worked up submission.

“The need to deliver better outcomes for our communities is paramount.”

Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) chairman Steve Hindley said: “We will be actively supporting and continuing to work with business to bring about step-change in investment to leverage transformational growth, generate more prosperity and unleashing the area’s economic potential.”

The Statement of Intent is now available on the council’s website www.somerset.gov.uk/devolution