East Cambridgeshire pitches delivery record in bid for social care duties

East Cambridgeshire District Council has put its own delivery record at the centre of the debate over local government reorganisation, calling on the government to hand it “appropriate upper-tier responsibilities” such as adult social care rather than proceed with plans to restructure its area.

The request came in a motion passed at a full council meeting last week. Proposed by council leader Anna Bailey (Con), the motion urged the government to “explain and evidence why reorganisation is necessary before proceeding”, arguing that the reorganisation process had been “rushed and poorly managed, creating unnecessary uncertainty for residents, businesses, organisations, staff and councils”.

The operational case at the heart of the motion is that structural change does not guarantee better services. Councillors stated that “there is little evidence that larger authorities automatically deliver better services, lower costs or stronger accountability”. The motion instead asks ministers to weigh alternatives that keep delivery closer to the ground: “The government should therefore consider whether collaboration, service-level devolution and district-led delivery could achieve its objectives without the disruption of structural reorganisation.”

The timing matters for service continuity. The government had already delayed a decision on reorganisation in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, saying “further time” was needed, before the process as a whole was paused last month. The combined authority has had a mayor since 2017 and is the only strategic authority where districts are constituent members, a structure that shapes how services are currently commissioned and delivered across the area.

Cllr Bailey framed her pitch around East Cambridgeshire’s track record as a service provider. Speaking at the meeting, she said “I would love nothing more than for East Cambridgeshire to become a unitary in its own right”, pointing to its “proud record as a small council that delivers high-quality services”. She asked the government to consider the council “as a pilot area for the devolution of various appropriate upper tier responsibilities, including adult social care and potentially rural road maintenance”. As supporting evidence she cited Rutland CC, a small council which in 2025 was “ranked first out of 150 local authorities” on adult social care. East Cambridgeshire had previously backed a reorganisation proposal for two unitary councils, so the new position marks a shift in the council’s stance.

By contrast, the opposition response focused on whether the district could actually take on the services it wants to run. Lorna Dupre (Lib Dem), leader of the Lib Dem and Independent group, called the motion “either a major misunderstanding of the government’s devolution agenda or another piece of pointless political posturing”. While she agreed that reorganisation had so far been “a complete shambles”, she argued the proposals were “hardly a convincing alternative”.

Cllr Dupre, who is also deputy leader at Cambridgeshire CC, set out the county’s own performance figures. The county’s adult social care services were last year judged ‘good’ by the Care Quality Commission, and net public satisfaction stood at 68%, having risen every year since 2023. On capacity, she was blunt: “it’s not clear East Cambs has the capacity, capability or expertise to manage major procurement, commissioning or contracting or achieve the prices the county council can while balancing large contracts with support for micro-care businesses.”

Within the Conservative group itself, there was support for the ask alongside realism about its prospects. Lucius Vellacott (Con) described the motion as a “bold ask”, saying he was “fairly convinced the government will say ‘No, we’re not going to pilot that, we’re not going to accept this innovative idea’. But I do back councillor Bailey to ask it.”

His closing remarks returned to the theme of delivery regardless of outcome. “We are ready,” he said, “But even if we don’t get there, we will knuckle down and we’ll keep on delivering for our residents because that is what we do here.”

Whether the government entertains a district-level pilot of adult social care, or reorganisation resumes on its previous timetable, remains the open question for services across Cambridgeshire.