As councils across the country prepare to submit their proposals for how local government should be structured, 91ÖÆƬ³§County Council is set to back a plan for a single unitary authority to serve the whole county.
Under the government’s plan for local government reorganisation, district and county councils, of which 91ÖÆƬ³§has seven, will be replaced with larger, unitary councils.
Councils are required to submit their proposals by the end of November, and the final decision on the future structure of local government in 91ÖÆƬ³§will be made by the government next year.
These proposed changes aim to create a simpler, more sustainable local government structure that will improve access to services for residents, support the local economy, help councils withstand financial shocks, and ultimately save taxpayers money.
Following the invitation from government at the start of this year, 91ÖÆƬ³§County Council began evaluating the various options for the county’s future.
After extensive analysis, it became clear that the ‘One Worcestershire’ proposal offered the best outcomes, both in terms of meeting the government’s criteria and delivering the most savings.
At the forefront of the One 91ÖÆƬ³§business case is a single unitary authority that keeps the county together by retaining the current and long-established county boundary. The proposal is focused on providing the best possible outcomes and value for money for residents and businesses, by creating simpler and more efficient access to services and a community-focused way of delivering services.
The business case highlights that maintaining services currently provided at a countywide level, such as highways, adult and children’s social care, education, and public health, will prevent the costly and complex task of splitting them up – an outcome that would inevitably impact the residents who rely on these services.
This added together with new links with housing and homelessness services will create opportunities for earlier support.
The health care system has the unanimous view that ‘a single unitary council for 91ÖÆƬ³§is their preferred option’, also stating that ‘two unitary authorities would double the amount of work’ and would ‘undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on patients and local residents’.
The draft business case, which can be viewed on the council’s website, will be considered at Council on 6 November ahead of Cabinet agreeing the final version to be submitted to government at the end of November.
For more information, please visit the Local Government Reorganisation pages of our website.
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