Clear preference on council future, says leader

Council leader Susan Juned said there is a "clear preference" on the future of councils in Warwickshire

Establishing two new councils in Warwickshire is the "clear preference" of the districts and boroughs, a political leader has said.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council leader Susan Juned made the statement as her authority backed the local government reorganisation plan for the county at a meeting on Monday.

She said they would need to be backed by "a balanced case to the government that looks at the whole of Warwickshire".

Councils across the UK with two tiers of local government have been told by central government they must submit proposals to convert into unitary authorities in a bid to cut bureaucracy.

Warwickshire's main council services are currently split between Warwickshire County Council and five districts and boroughs. 

Under government plans, all services will be dealt with by one level of local government.

The county council believes there should be one new county-wide authority but a case is also being for one that covers the North Warwickshire, Nuneaton, Bedworth and Rugby boroughs, and one that covers Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick.

All but one councillor at Elizabeth House backed plans to discuss the two options

A county council report suggested £21m a year could be saved over five years with a single authority but splitting things like adult social care and the fire service over two councils would limit savings to £8m across the first five years combined.

However, a report for the districts and borough councillors suggested £18 million a year could still be saved across two councils.

Ms Juned said the plans had to be "carefully worked out and backed up by evidence".

"We have to make sure that it is not just savings that dominate, local services have to work well," she said.

"The message that goes to the government has to be that it is not just about size, it is about the improvements we can make in efficiency and effectiveness, not just cost reduction."

At the meeting, all but one Stratford district councillor backed the plans which will be further discussed ahead of final submissions in November.

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