Leader defends council plan during heated debate

"One council is much stronger than three," said Kay Mason Billig

Proposals to scrap eight councils and replace them with only one have been defended by a council leader.

Conservative Kay Mason Billig – who leads Norfolk County Council – insisted the idea "saves the most money" while maintaining services.

The plan has put the council at odds with the district authorities in Norfolk who have said a reorganisation of local government should see the county run by either two or three councils.

Labour's Steve Morphew said there had been a lack of debate on the proposals and the "public deserve to hear a proper full discussion".

Since the government announced its devolution plans last year – which will see the current county and seven district councils scrapped - local authorities in Norfolk have drawn up their proposals for how it should be run in the future.

The county council favours one authority covering the entire county while six of the district councils favour the idea of three. South Norfolk Council has said two would be best.

Final proposals must be submitted by September, with the government due to decide on its favoured option after that.

Norfolk County Council's chamber heard fierce debate over plans to reorganise local government

Arguing that smaller councils would struggle financially, Mason Billig told a meeting of the full county council that "all angles" had been looked at and a "wide range of data" had been reviewed: "A single county unitary saves the most money, is cheaper to run and avoids fragmentation of services."

But opponents say one large authority would be too remote from the people it is supposed to serve.

Labour put forward a motion calling for the single council idea to be dropped, and more work to be done with the districts.

Their group leader, Morphew, also said there had been a lack of discussion.

"This is probably the biggest issue that we've been dealing with for quite some time, and it's a shame we've only got this opportunity to discuss it in public..

"Let's go have a look at alternatives."

The Liberal Democrats' Brian Watkins said the county council should have "meaningful discussions" with other authorities

He was backed by the Liberal Democrat group leader Brian Watkins, who said it was "deeply regrettable that so little progress has been made in coming together with the districts to find common ground".

"The council's position is becoming a bit like Custer's last stand – a last, desperate attempt to cling on to the reins of power," he added.

The Green's Catherine Rowett said she feared that, however the reorganisation worked out, further cuts to local government funding would be on the horizon and that none of the options would "deliver a substantial improvement to life in Norfolk".

"It's clear that major reorganisation never actually saves money and valued staff who make our services run will be looking to leave during a period of uncertainty."

Reform UK's Julian Kirk said his constituents were not interested in having one council controlling all of Norfolk

Reform UK's Julian Kirk – who also serves as a borough councillor in west Norfolk – said none of his constituents wanted a single unitary authority: "It's difficult to get across to them that Norfolk County Council actually works for them – their first point of call is always the borough council."

Labour's motion was defeated – and the Conservatives – with their majority, agreed to further develop the plan for a single unitary.

Mason Billig said she regularly discussed local government reorganisation with the other council leaders and there had been a public consultation on the idea.

And she warned the tight timeline set by ministers "would make it irresponsible to delay a decision when Norfolk got to present a credible, coherent alternative to central government".