Leader insists single council 'value for money'

Norfolk County Council's Conservative leader Kay Mason Billig insisted the authority's plan would save tens of millions of pounds a year

One authority running all local services in Norfolk would provide "value for money for the public", a council leader has insisted.

Norfolk County Council has revealed its final proposals for a major shake-up of local government – arguing that having one body in control would save £39.8m a year.

That is in contrast to the other local authorities, most of whom say three would provide more localised services.

But the county council's Conservative leader Kay Mason Billig said their plans were more expensive and "don't make a lot of sense".

The government believes that abolishing county and district councils, then transferring their powers to unitary authorities will provide a better service for council tax payers and save money.

Norfolk's current councils have to submit their proposals to ministers for changes this month – and earlier this week, a group of them put forward their plan for three authorities running the county.

Norfolk county councillors are due to discuss the proposals later this month

Norfolk County Council has already said it favours one authority.

Its draft business case says it should be made up of 168 councillors – with two covering each existing council division.

Previously it said its plan would save £29m a year compared to the current setup of local government – but now suggested the annual saving would now be £39.8m.

It said that – according to its analysis – three authorities would cost an extra £33.8m a year.

And Mason Billig insisted that one, large authority would not be too remote from the people it is supposed to serve, arguing the county council "already provides 85% of all the local government services in Norfolk" – such as social care.

"We have areas teams around the county. They're on your doorstep, they're already in people's homes. So we're about as local as we can get for those really vital services," she added.

Mason Billig said the county council already provided most local services in Norfolk, including social care

On Wednesday, six of the district councils released their final proposals – suggesting three unitary authorities, each with a population of around 300,000, would provide more localised services for residents and save £220m over eight years.

"We are trying to place residents at the front of what we do" said Councillor Sam Chapman- Allen, the Conservative leader of Breckland District Council.

"It is not about political allegiances. This is about best serving residents and businesses."

Mason Billig dismissed the plan and argued it would cost more with each council needing to fill roles like chief executives and social care directors.

"If you look at some of the maps that have been drawn, they don't make a lot of sense," she said.

Labour's Steve Morphew cast doubt on the county councils financial projections

Brian Watkins, leader of the county council's main opposition group – the Liberal Democrats – said the idea that a single council would lead to "huge savings" was based on "a false premise".

"Mega councils could well lead to poorer outcomes due to their remoteness and inefficiency," he warned.

Watkins prefers the idea of three unitary authorities, as does Labour's Steve Morphew.

He said the increase in council members would lead to "a jungle of bureaucracy" and questioned the potential savings.

'Those figures are based on assumptions not facts," Morphew said.

"You may as well pluck figures from the air. The council have consistently refused to release the detailed breakdown of how these savings have been estimated."

Councils have until 26 September to submit their final plans to the government, with a final decision expected early next year.