Local councils could be scrapped in government plan

Local councils have said their potential abolishment in favour of a single authority must "maximise benefits for residents".

Several councils could be abolished and merged into a new unitary authority in a government overhaul of local government.

The five district councils in Suffolk in a joint statement said while the issue was speculation, any reorganisation needed to "keep local government genuinely local".

Leader of Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks, said it had been in talks with government but nothing had been agreed.

Suffolk's councils including others in nearby Norfolk and Essex could be restructured, as first reported by The Times.

Babergh and Mid Suffolk, East Suffolk, Ipswich, and West Suffolk make up Suffolk's district councils.

In a joint statement, they said they had received no information or guidance about potential changes, but were awaiting the government's White Paper report that would lay out more detail on the plans.

They said the two-tier local government had "served Suffolk residents well" helping to reduce demand for more costly services while ensuring an understanding of local issues and needs.

"However, if a single-tier local government model were to be pursued then we want to ensure that whatever unitary arrangements are introduced have the interests of our communities and residents at their heart," the statement added.

"Local authorities must be close to their communities and focused on delivery. Bigger is not always better or necessarily more efficient for local services."

They added there was a positive case for the "right type of reform that preserves and deepens the representation of and focus on places, local residents and communities".

Mr Hicks said Suffolk County Council had met with the government to understand what any possible devolution might look like.

"Nothing has been agreed at all," he said.

"These discussions are really at an early stage and are still ongoing.

"I welcome the opportunity to have further discussions but we will have to sit and wait for the Devolution White paper that is due out I understand the first week of December and hopefully that will bring some clarity."

He added he was "always interested in delivering better services" in a "financially prudent way", but was unsure of any potential timeline for changes.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said no decisions had been taken.

"Our priority is to focus on the transfer of power from Westminster and work with councils to create structures that make sense for their local areas and work effectively for local people," a spokesperson said.

"We will set out further details in the upcoming English Devolution White Paper."

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