Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils should merge, MP suggests

Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, says the councils are struggling

Two cash-strapped councils should merge to save money, an MP says.

Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said there was "currently huge duplication" between Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland councils.

He has previously proposed "rationalising" the authorities' back-office services to make savings.

Middlesbrough Council declined to comment while Redcar and Cleveland said mergers "bring their own costs".

Mr Clarke was speaking after Labour-controlled Middlesbrough Council failed to publish its audited accounts by the deadline of 30 September.

Last week it approved plans to sell-off a raft of assets in an effort to avoid bankruptcy after an overspend of more than £8.5m was forecast for the second quarter of the financial year.

Redcar, meanwhile, which is led by Labour on a minority basis, is considering cuts to jobs and services to fill an expected £7.7m budget shortfall.

'Root and branch review'

"It is critical that Middlesbrough Council is open and transparent with its finances," said Mr Clarke.

He said that this should include the urgent publication of all due accounts.

"Meanwhile, the current fire sale of assets apparently under way needs to be proven to deliver best value for the people of Middlesbrough, rather than being deployed to plug holes in a sinking ship," he said.

He said the situation "further strengthens the case for a root and branch review" of how back-office services between the councils could be rationalised.

Mr Clarke added that the situation makes one wonder "whether a full merger might create a more resilient and sustainable local authority", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesperson for Middlesbrough Council previously said backlogs of audited accounts were "a common picture across the country" and that a "complex set of factors" had contributed to the delay in producing its accounts.

Middlesbrough's MP, Andy McDonald, who is currently suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation into comments relating to the Israel-Gaza war, said the area's council was having to "clean up" after four years of a coalition between independents and Conservatives.

Redcar and Cleveland Council leader Alec Brown said: "Mergers not only bring their own costs but could also leave our taxpayers and residents in a worse position and we have no plans to propose any mergers at any time."

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said the government was working with the Financial Reporting Council to tackle audit backlogs and "put the system on a more sustainable footing".