What happened to councils shaken up four years ago?

The government is proposing changes to local councils, many of which Northamptonshire have already been through

Earlier this week the government set out plans for a landmark shake-up of local government, including more unitary authorities and more regional mayors.

But for the residents of Northamptonshire the announcement would have had a familiar ring to it.

Less than four years ago the county made the move to two unitary councils after the county council and the district and borough councils were scrapped.

How did we get here, what difference has it made and could more change be on the way?

What happened and why

Commissioners were brought into run Northamptonshire County Council, which ultimately led to the authority being dissolved

Northamptonshire County Council overspent its budget by millions of pounds, and in 2018 it was twice forced to stop all non-essential spending.

It was described by the then-Conservative Kettering MP Philip Hollobone as "the worst run" local authority in the country and accused of weak budgetary control.

It led to three commissioners being appointed by the government to oversee the running of the council.

From 2021 the county council no longer existed. It was scrapped, along with seven district and borough councils in the county, to make way for two new unitary authorities - West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire.

Mergers and splits

The unitary authorities now run the county's library, such as the one in Corby

Under the unitary authority model nearly all council services are now under one roof.

Things like planning, bin collections and recycling, as well as environmental health merged to be run by the unitary authorities.

But other services like school admissions, roads, and libraries were split in two, as they were previously run by the county council.

At first some services were shared between the two councils.

For almost 18 months there was just one Director of Public Health for the whole of the county.

But that changed after a review of the service, and since October 2022, there have been two Public Health services and two Director's supporting people in each authority area.

An independent trust took over the running of children's services across Northamptonshire in 2020, and received funding from both councils.

A move towards 'harmonisation'

Some areas have had to pay for garden waste to be collected when previously it was free

With the abolition of seven districts and boroughs and the county council a lot of services needed what the authorities called "harmonising".

One of the areas to be tackled was garden waste charges, in some of the district and boroughs, people were already being charged and in others the council collected for free.

Charges are now in place across both council areas and have been increasing year-on-year.

Both councils faced opposition as they updated their policy for Hackney Carriage and private hire drivers.

A four year dispute from splitting the balances of the defunct Northamptonshire County Council was only settled in August.

The issue was dividing the assets and liabilities of the county council, which covered both areas.

More changes on the way?

West Northamptonshire Council leader said he would welcome more devolution

Adam Brown, the Conservative leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said "there are massive advantages of having a unitary council" but thinks there could more changes to local authorities in Northamptonshire.

Earlier this year, six unitary authorities - West Northamptonshire, North Northamptonshire, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton, Milton Keynes, submitted an expression of interest to the government towards further devolution with a South Midlands combined authority.

Mr Brown said: "We do have one of the most centralised systems of local government in Europe and I think it's time that was addressed and corrected."

Fellow Conservative Jason Smithers, leader of North Northamptonshire Council, said it is "a very exciting time" for local government and further devolution will help "create a proactive, proud and prosperous area for all of our residents".

But Ian McCord, the former leader of the now-defunct South Northamptonshire Council, does not believe unitary has been the "fresh start" it could have been.

The now Independent councillor on West Northamptonshire Council says further devolution could "alienate the rural areas all the more" in the proposed combined authority.

The government will announce the parts of the country it is prioritising for devolution "in due course", with the aim of holding mayoral elections for these areas in May 2026.