Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Leadership Board - 21 November 2025

**Executive Group and Government Funding** – Service Director Matt Barton, acting for the Chief Executive, reported that several items from the October meeting had re‑appeared on the current agenda, demonstrating the Executive Group’s role in vetting draft reports before they reach the Leadership Board. He briefed members on the new Secretary of State’s commitment to “fairer funding” for local authorities, referencing the recently published Local Government Finance Policy Statement and its three‑year funding formula. While the precise impact on Cornwall Council’s finances remains uncertain, Barton highlighted the progress of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which had moved from the Bill Committee to report stage in the House of Commons. MP Perran Moon confirmed that a four‑week MP consultation would precede any budget announcements before Christmas and noted that amendments concerning Cornish devolution were under consideration.

**Rural Deprivation – “Pretty Poverty” Report** – Tanya Ovenden‑Hope of Plymouth Marjon University presented the Diocese of Truro‑commissioned report on rural deprivation in Cornwall. The study combined 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation data with qualitative work in six isolated rural communities, identifying six core challenges: transport dependency, housing displacement, precarious employment, reduced health‑care access, educational isolation, and community resilience that masking disadvantage. She argued that current deprivation metrics are urban‑centric and that reliance on IoD 2025 and IMD 2019 could systematically under‑fund rural areas. Discussion highlighted parliamentary interest in the findings, alignment with other local poverty work, and concerns about the difficulty of influencing national funding formulas.

**Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS)** – Lord Robin Teverson introduced the Council’s LNRS, the as pilot under the Environment Act 2021 and one of the first three areas approved by DEFRA. The strategy, developed after extensive consultation with farmers, landowners, businesses, environmental groups and communities, maps priority habitats and species and proposes connected nature corridors. Delivery will rely on Environmental Land Management schemes, local planning tools and private investment, including the Local Investment in Nature and Cornwall programme. Council members endorsed the strategy, noted the strong public support revealed by a survey (97 % concerned about nature’s future), and discussed the need to integrate biodiversity net‑gain requirements and to progress a complementary marine framework.

**Safer Cornwall Plan Refresh** – Councillor Thalia Marrington, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Public Health, presented the refreshed Safer Cornwall Partnership Plan for 2026/27. The plan emphasises prevention, inclusion and early intervention to address rising antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse, drug‑related deaths, hate crime and online harms. Stakeholders, including MP Jane Kirkham and Safer Cornwall Chair Simon Mould, praised the partnership’s collaborative model and suggested scaling successful elements such as the Safer Towns Programme across the county. The Leader proposed deeper‑dive sessions on future Leadership Board meetings to allow more detailed discussion of such cross‑cutting initiatives.

**Decisions and Next Steps** – The Leadership Board formally endorsed the 2026/27 refresh of the Safer Cornwall Partnership Plan and accepted the recommendations for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, committing to disseminate the strategy to town and parish councils and to embed it in neighbourhood development plans. The Board also recorded the need to monitor the forthcoming fair‑funding review and devolution Bill developments, with a four‑week MP consultation to precede any budget announcements. Participants agreed that future meetings would allocate additional time for detailed debate on these and other strategic issues, ensuring coordinated action across Council departments, partners and external stakeholders.