Authority pays £325k for new 'super council' plans

Joanne Monk, the Reform UK county council leader, and fellow cabinet member David Taylor are backing the plan

Consultants have been paid £325,000 to draw up plans to amalgamate a number of councils.

Under the proposals, Worcestershire County Council could be combined with Worcestershire's six district councils, to create one unitary authority.

The Reform UK-run authority employed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to work on the '"One Worcestershire" project, and chief financial officer Phil Rook said he has been working with the consultants to model "future sustainability", including rises in council tax and sale of assets.

Conservative councillor Seb James has questioned the decision to employ the consultancy firm, asking a meeting: "Is this really value for money?"

Mr Rook told Monday's meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny performance board the initial cost appraisal had cost £75,000, followed by £50,000 to refine the work.

The final £200,000 was paid to PwC, the second biggest accountancy firm in the world, for "sessions with the leadership team, looking at our target operating model, and doing a lot of work behind the scenes".

He said the council received a contribution of "about £38,000" from the government.

But Mr James argued: "We have paid a huge amount of money for a report that quite frankly has raised more questions about what the future of this county will look like than given us any answers."

The Worcestershire County Council proposals for one unitary authority are supported by Wyre Forest District Council.

But the five other councils in Worcestershire - Worcester, Malvern Hills, Wychavon, Redditch and Bromsgrove - would prefer separate unitary councils for north and south Worcestershire.

They employed another leading consultancy firm KPMG to draw up their rival proposal.

Business cases for both scenarios will be submitted to the government this month and a decision will be made by ministers in the spring.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.