Local government reorganisation should be matter for councils and local areas to decide: LGA
The Local Government has said it remains "clear that local government reorganisation should be a matter for councils and local areas to decide" in response to Government plans to replace two-tier council areas with unitary authorities.
The LGA's statement comes after the Government's deadline for councils to apply for a priority devolution programme, which passed last week.
More than half of all county councils in two-tier areas put their name down for the scheme, which aims to create unitary councils representing a population of around 500,000 people each.
Councils that are selected for the programme will also have upcoming local elections delayed until next year.
Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the LGA, said: "The LGA has always been clear that genuine devolution is key to unlocking the potential of local government and communities.
"The Government is right to recognise that empowering local areas is key to delivering its agenda, be it boosting inclusive economic growth, building homes, creating opportunities for all and improving public services.
"However, we also know that local government reorganisation is an emotive and polarising issue for some of our member councils. Proposed reforms in the White Paper will have a significant impact on every council and community.
"While our members are – and always have been – open to change, we remain clear that local government reorganisation should be a matter for councils and local areas to decide. The diverging views across the sector underline and reinforce this position."
She noted that councils that have requested elections to be postponed this year "will already be working hard to prepare and put plans in place, so will need quick decisions from government".
Her statement meanwhile added that devolution and reorganisation "are not the answer to the immediate funding crisis facing local services".
She said: "The forthcoming Spending Review will be critical to the future of our local services and must ensure councils have the long-term funding and certainty to provide the services our community rely on every day."
Cllr Gittins's statement comes after the District Councils' Network hit out against the priority programme over concerns about the requirement to delay local elections in regions covered by the programme.
Opposition has also been seen in Devon, where seven district councils and one city council issued a joint statement opposing the prospect of a county-wide unitary authority.
Devon County Council applied to the priority programme despite the statement.
Newcastle Under Lyme Borough Council also expressed opposition to the plans, raising fears that reorganisation could end its 852-year-long history as an independent borough.
Simon Tagg, Leader of Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, said: "Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough has a long history of independence dating back to 1173, that has been confirmed and expanded by royal charters over many hundreds of years.
"Politicians from much larger unitary authorities are more remote from their communities and I doubt that a larger authority, three or four times the size of Newcastle, would prioritise the borough as we do now, which is less democratic and not what residents deserve."
Adam Carey
