Government warned ‘mega councils’ plan is based on flawed evidence

Threatened territory councils person accused the Government of relying connected constricted and flawed grounds to warrant creating alleged “mega councils” crossed England.

The 2nd tier authorities warned that the planned determination successful region areas risks sidelining communities and failing to present fiscal benefits and economical growth.

The English Devolution White Paper, published successful December, said 164 territory councils and 21 region councils liable for a combined colonisation of 20 cardinal and an yearly fund of £32 cardinal volition beryllium merged to make authorities serving astatine slightest 500,000 people.

The District Councils’ Network (DCN) said its members would enactment a signifier of reorganisation but they “overwhelmingly” judge councils should beryllium person to “unique” communities successful bid to conscionable their needs.

When the DCN submitted a state of accusation petition to found what grounds was utilized by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to acceptable the minimum colonisation level, the effect cited a study from 2020.

The study by consultancy PwC, which was commissioned by the County Councils Network, recovered abolishing smaller councils and replacing them with ample authorities could prevention billions of pounds implicit 5 years.

The MHCLG besides referenced arsenic grounds the achromatic insubstantial itself, which DCN said does not see fiscal investigation of the minimum colonisation figure, and a abstracted unnamed papers withheld from nationalist scrutiny to sphere a “safe space” for ministers and officials to make policy.

The DCN said the PwC study is retired of day arsenic galore councils successful two-tier areas person already delivered “significant ratio savings” since 2020, including the improvement of shared services and absorption arrangements.

It added: “The study does not bespeak the imaginable for councils to present further ratio savings wrong existing structures.

“It pre-dates overmuch of the surge successful request for big societal care, children’s services, Send (special acquisition needs and disabilities) and impermanent accommodation, which is costly for councils to conscionable and reduces the scope for ratio savings overall.

The Government has not commissioned autarkic probe to enactment its penchant for ample unitary councils and has done nary investigation of its own

District Councils' Network

“The Government has not commissioned autarkic probe to enactment its penchant for ample unitary councils and has done nary investigation of its own.”

The DCN added the MHCLG had besides made nary appraisal of the upfront costs of creating caller unitary councils successful Somerset, Cumbria and North Yorkshire successful 2023.

The MHCLG disclosure besides revealed that an valuation projected past twelvemonth of “optimum scale”, arsenic good arsenic the interaction of colonisation size and geography for unitary councils, was ne'er commissioned.

Sam Chapman-Allen, DCN president and Conservative person of Breckland Council, said: “It is alarming that determination is truthful small grounds to warrant the Government’s request for each region areas to reorganise into mega councils with much than fractional a cardinal people.

“The Government has done nary investigation of its ain and has commissioned nary autarkic assessment. It is relying connected grounds that is not remotely up to date.

“Local authorities reorganisation is not without hazard and is hard to get right. The information is that, without robust appraisal of the optimal standard of caller unitary councils, we volition get sub-optimal results.”

He added DCN members would enactment reorganisation which benefits their communities but warned plans not based connected thorough grounds volition neglect to supply worth for wealth for taxpayers.

“The deficiency of grounds is each the much crushed for the Government to springiness each section areas the time, flexibility and enactment to make reorganisation proposals that volition cater for section circumstances, bespeak section individuality and sphere the adjacent nexus to spot that is indispensable for driving growth.

“Local residents person been sidelined successful the statement truthful far. Let’s inquire them what structures and standard marque consciousness to them,” Mr Chapman-Allen said.

At the clip of the 2020 PwC report, Baroness Taylor, past person of Stevenage Council and present a lodging minister, told the BBC her section region of Hertfordshire was “just excessively big” to beryllium represented by 1 council.

“That is centralising section services which seems wholly wrong,” she said, adding that Britain has the “least practice astatine section level of anyplace successful Europe already”.

“That existent antiauthoritarian dependable that radical person astatine section level is truly important to them,” she said.

The Government has been approached for comment.