HAVING read the letter from Christopher Jackson (Daily Echo, March 28), I am responding to set the record straight, as I thought I had done in my previous reply (Letters, March 24) to John Probert.

The issue of Combined Authorities is purely the Government’s route to encouraging Local Authorities to join together in their work on economic development and transport infrastructure. Across Dorset the various councils have been doing this for some time and through the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership have been very successful in bidding for large amounts of Government funding to make this work strategically across the county.

Whichever party wins the General Election, LEPs are here to stay and so for councils the overarching aim must be to promote jobs and growth across the whole of Dorset.

The Government has made it very clear that this is the only route to attracting these central funds on a competitive basis across England and so we are doing all we can to get our fair share and more for the residents of Dorset.

What this is certainly not is an additional layer of local government. I can assure Mr Jackson that there is absolutely no desire nor requirement by councils or councillors to impose a further layer of bureaucracy and cost on hard-pressed local taxpayers.

Combined Authorities and LEPs are a fact of life across the country and are not a replacement for the existing council structures. I must emphasise to Mr Jackson that the proposal is not for one council across Dorset, but rather a Dorset-wide strategic plan, which will attract much more resource from the Government for Dorset through the LEP.

I am happy to extend my previous offer made to Mr Probert and to invite Mr Jackson to meet so that I can explain the changes, as well as the consultation process with all Dorset councils. A useful website address is dorsetforyou.com/prosperous-dorset

Cllr John Beesley, Leader, Bournemouth Borough Council