Matt Western, MP for Warwick and Leamington, has welcomed Warwickshire not being selected for the first phase of the government's devolution plans.

The MP argues this decision gives local government and relevant organisations "time to pause and engage in discussions" which he believes are "essential" to ensuring the final devolution deal in Warwickshire is "fit for the future and the people it serves".

Last year, the government announced devolution plans which would see more power transferred from Whitehall in communities.

The plans included the restructuring of council areas where two or more tiers of local government currently exist and forming a unitary authority.

In Warwickshire, two tiers of local government exist with borough and district councils serving smaller areas and dealing with issues such as housing, bin collections and planning applications, and the county council who serve Warwickshire as a county and deal with issues such as schools, roads and transport.

A devolution deal would mean replacing these two tiers of local government with a single unitary authority.

Mr Western said these plans would "deliver the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England's regions in a generation" and argued they would "rebuild local Government".

On the news that Warwickshire was not one of the six areas that was selected in the first phase of devolution plans, the Labour MP said: "I welcome this news and firmly believe that this additional time will allow us to pause and engage in discussions to ensure the devolution we get here in Warwickshire is fit for the future and the people it serves.

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"I am concerned Warwickshire County Council is moving to quickly and given this is a key opportunity for our region, we must collaborate with our districts and boroughs to determine the best approach to devolution.

"It is of paramount importance that the public is consulted on this decision as many rely on council services daily and their livelihoods are directly affected by the effectiveness of these services."