Councils submit final bids over future restructure

Four Warwickshire councils backed a north-south divide

The deadline has passed for councils to submit their plans for a shake-up of local government, but in some areas the picture is clearer than other.

It follows a government drive to simplify council structures and means local services - be it bin collections, education, social care or highways - taken on by a single council, a move designed to provide greater efficiency and clarity for tax payers.

Although the government will have the final say on what happens in each area, it is the councils that will be cease to exist which have been tasked with planning that restructure.

At this time of year, analogies about turkeys and Christmas might seem appropriate to some.

While district and borough councils will go, county councils will also be replaced by unitary authorities.

We look at the situation in the West Midlands and what is planned in those areas set for a restructure.

Warwickshire

At North Warwickshire Borough Council, Labour councillor Brynnen Ririe claimed last week that issues to tackle included falling-down schools and poorly rated care homes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Meanwhile, Conservative councillor Caroline Symonds said the county's north and south had different issues.

"It is not that one is worse or better than the other, I don't believe that" she said. "It is just that there are very different issues and needs."

Four Warwickshire councils - Nuneaton and Bedworth, North Warwickshire, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon - have backed two unitary authorities in the county, covering the north and south.

Warwickshire County Council and Rugby Borough Council wanted a single unitary authority for the whole county.

'Population size could be deciding factor' - analysis

The Labour government will ultimately have the final say on whether Warwickshire will become a county divided.

No matter how strong the feeling is around the cultural and economic differences between the north and south of the county, government guidance on minimum population sizes for any new authority could be the deciding factor.

The population of Warwickshire is roughly 600,000 and ministers said any new unitary authorities should have a population of at least 500,000 "to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks".

Splitting the county would seem unlikely to satisfy that government diktat although the guidance does have the caveat "decisions will be on a case-by-case basis".

Staffordshire

As final proposals were agreed, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council heard claims the north of the county was being "held back" by a fragmented system of local government that separated transport from planning and also split decisions across authorities.

Labour and Co-operative councillor Nigel Yates said: "Because of that, we are failing to deliver a sustainable transport system that is required in the Moorlands."

Staffordshire, which has eight borough and district councils under a county council, plus the unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, saw five different options put forward.

'Spreading the financial burden' - analysis

The idea of a council shake-up has gone down like a lead balloon in large parts of north Staffordshire and there have been campaigns against it, as areas such as Staffordshire Moorlands and Newcastle-under-Lyme objected to "merging" with Stoke-on-Trent.

Currently a unitary authority, Stoke-on-Trent is caught in the middle, literally, because of its debt.

The city council has relied on emergency government bailouts. The latest was £17m, and last year it was £48m, partly because of the spiralling cost of children's services, with more than 1,000 children in care.

Rural and affluent areas like Newcastle and the Moorlands, with relatively well-balanced budgets don't want residents to be "dragged" into it.

What could influence the government's final decision on Staffordshire is how to spread the financial burden.

Worcestershire

In Worcestershire, Malvern Hills Independent councillor Sarah Rouse claimed earlier this month that "most people don't care" about local government reorganisation.

She said a residents' survey had been undertaken but "99% couldn't be bothered to fill the survey in".

Rouse said: "I've not had a single email, a single question or anyone ask me about LGR. It's important to us because we understand local government and what's happening but most people really don't care."

Five Worcestershire councils - Worcester, Redditch, Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills and Wychavon - backed two unitary authorities in the county with a north-south divide.

Worcestershire County Council and Wyre Forest District Council favoured a single council covering the whole county.

'One Worcestershire' - analysis

Backers of a north-south split argue it would allow north Worcestershire to develop specialised services in areas such as children's social care, where the need is at its most acute.

The same applies in economic development - north Worcestershire councillors feel the area has more in common with urban areas of the Midlands, and an authority for the north could help unlock funding.

In the south, supporters of a split said areas such as Malvern, Pershore and Broadway were more rural, and taxpayers should not have to fund the more expensive social care needs of the north.

Politicians supporting a "one Worcestershire" single unitary council said it would be cheaper, so more money could be invested in front-line services such as roads, schools, libraries and health.