New consultations launched on reorganisation proposals: CCN responds
Today the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced that consultations will begin in 14 counties in England over proposals to reorganise councils in those areas.
Below, the County Councils Network responds to the announcement.
Cllr Matthew Hicks, Chair of the County Councils Network, said:
“The launch of the consultation period for the remaining 14 areas invited to submit reorganisation proposals is an important milestone. These reforms represent the largest and most complex changes to local government in generation, so we urge all stakeholders and local residents in each area to engage with the consultation.
“County councils have worked hard to put forward ambitious, evidence-based proposals that will improve services and deliver fewer, leaner councils: fully in line with the government’s stated criteria. Conversely, some of the competing proposals put out to consultation risk splitting high performing care services into smaller councils - well below the stated criteria. At the same time, they promise hundreds of millions of in savings to adult and children’s services with little supporting evidence.
“It is vital that the government uses this consultation period to closely scrutinise and rigorously evaluate all proposals against their own statutory criteria. Crucially, all final decisions by ministers on which proposals to implement, starting with those in Devolution Priority Programme areas due next month, must be evidence-based and not politically driven. The decisions will shape local areas for years to come, so it is vital they ensure any new councils are able deliver savings to reinvest in frontline services, safeguard care to the most vulnerable and foster the economic growth this country desperately needs.
“Building on our experience of working through dozens of reorganisation programmes over the last two decades, the County Councils Network will continue to support its member councils’. This will include engaging the government over their timescales for implementation this parliament, recognising the views of all our member councils.”
The CCN has published several pieces of evidence to inform the debate on local government reorganisation. View all published research here.
