WIREDGOV

Healey announces nine successful unitary proposals

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT News Release (141) issued by The Government News Network on 25 July 2007

Local Government Minister John Healey has today announced that nine proposals for unitary status will now go ahead towards implementation with the intention that all new authorities are fully up and running in 2009.

Councils currently estimate that the nine new unitary authorities could save over £150 million per year which can be used to directly improve front line services or to reduce council tax bills.

The proposals open the door to creating flagship councils that will lead the way on promoting prosperity, empowering citizens and communities, and improving public services for the 3.5 million people in the areas going forward. The number of councils in these areas will be reduced from forty-six to eleven.

The full list of successful authorities that will proceed, subject to the enactment of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health (LGPIH) Bill, is as follows:

Councils Submitting Proposals   Proposed unitary structure
      Bedford Borough Council         Bedford Unitary
      Chester City Council            2 Unitary Cheshire
      Cornwall County Council         County Unitary
      Durham County Council           County Unitary
      Exeter City Council             Exeter Unitary
      Ipswich Borough Council         Ipswich Unitary
      Northumberland County Council   County Unitary
      Shropshire County Council       County Unitary
      Wiltshire County Council        County Unitary 

Since the end of the 12 week stakeholder consultation, all nine proposals proceeding to implementation have been rigorously assessed against the published criteria of affordability, stronger leadership, improved local services, empowered communities and a broad cross section of support.

Local Government Minister John Healey said:

"We have rigorously assessed bids from councils against published criteria. They have to prove their proposals can improve services for local people and bring potential savings for council tax payers. All of the nine councils have shown they want to build on the improvements we have seen in local government services over the past 10 years - further improving the services they offer to their communities by making them more responsive, effective and efficient.

"I have been impressed with the plans laid out in their proposals, which show potential for better value for money and improved services.

"It will now be for these new unitary authorities to ensure they deliver these plans - empowering local people and communities, further improving local services, realising greater efficiencies and delivering improved economic prosperity for their areas."

Based on the detailed assessment the Government has asked four councils
- Bedford Borough Council, Chester City Council, Exeter City Council, and Ipswich Borough Council - to undertake further work and submit additional information to demonstrate conclusively the financial viability of their proposals. Final decisions on all proposals will be taken, once the LGPIH Bill is enacted.

In addition, although Norwich City Council's proposal based on the city's current boundaries did not meet the strict criteria there is a strong case for a unitary authority. We have decided to ask the Boundary Committee to advise, when they are able to use their new powers in the LGPIH Bill once enacted, whether an alternative unitary proposal for Norwich based on revised council boundaries could deliver the required improvements.

To ensure smooth implementation the Department has established a group of experts, including the LGA, local government trade unions and employers, and other professional bodies to advise on the practical arrangements, and the Government will work closely with the authorities going forward.

John Healey also announced that Government will also continue to work with the five two-tier pathfinder proposals and councils not moving to unitary status to work together on promoting prosperity, empowering citizens and communities, and improving service delivery.

John Healey added:

"The five pathfinder areas will pioneer new ways of working and demonstrate for all councils in remaining two-tier areas how deliver better services and greater efficiency gains can be achieved."

Notes to Editors:

1. There proposals that will not proceed are:

Councils Submitting Proposals    Proposed unitary structure
      Bedfordshire County Council      County Unitary
      Cheshire County Council          County Unitary
      Cumbria Council                  County Unitary
      Northumberland Districts         2 unitary Northumberland
      North Yorkshire County Council   County Unitary
      Somerset County Council          County Unitary 

2. The detailed decision letters sent to each authority can be viewed at http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1509144

3. If Bedford Borough Council's proposals are implemented other authorities in Bedfordshire including Bedfordshire County Council will be invited to propose a unitary solution that meets the five criteria for the remaining area of Bedfordshire.

4. Plans for some areas to move to unitary status were announced as part of the devolutionary local government white paper, Strong and Prosperous Communities and October 2006.

5. The nine proposals are subject to enactment of the necessary legislative provisions in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill, which passed in the House of Commons on 22 May and is currently being considered in the House of Lords. They must also take account of the community empowerment measures set out in the Constitutional Green Paper.

6. Last month the Government consulted on proposals to prioritise the proposals in the event that more met the criteria than could be afforded under sound fiscal rules. Now that the detailed assessment has been carried out the Government has concluded that no prioritisation will be necessary.

7. The five pathfinder proposals are from councils in Buckinghamshire, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire, and Suffolk.

8. The group of experts includes representatives from the:

* Local Government Association (LGA)
* Association of County Chief Executives (ACCE)
* Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
* Trade Union Congress (TUC)
* Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU)
* UNISON
* GMB
* UCATT
* AMICUS
* Association of Local Authority Chief Executives (ALACE)
* Public Sector People Managers' Association (PPMA)
* Audit Commission
* Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
* The Society of County Treasurers
* The Society of District Council Treasurers
* Association of Council Secretaries and Solicitors (ACSeS)
* Local Government Employers
* National Association of Regional Employers (NARE)

The next group meeting will be held on Friday 27 July.

Its terms of reference are to consider practical arrangements for implementing structural change, including arrangements for finance, staffing, continuity of functions and assets and liabilities, having regard to

* the need
- to minimise any risk of disruption to the exercise of an authority's functions;
- to reflect local flexibility wherever possible;
- not to create barriers to transformational change and service re-engineering; and
- to secure value for money for the local and national taxpayer; and
* the implications of change for staff, service users, and other partners and stakeholders.

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