This District Councils’ Network has warned of the threat facing high-quality public services, as the government intends to reorganise local government.
According to the Budget Red Book, the government’s impending devolution white paper will outline the government’s plans for devolution, with this including collaboration with councils to simplify their structures.
Considering this, the District Councils’ Network has warned that this reorganisation poses a threat to district councils, as they could eventually be swallowed up into larger unitary councils. This would then have an impact on the quality of services, as district councils are the closest tier of principle local government to the communities they serve, so merging them into larger councils would move services further from communities.
The DCN also outlined how the frontline services of district councils are at risk, as funding could be diverted away so that increasing social care funding shortfalls can be plugged. These services, used to be around 21 million people, include:
- Economic development
- Housing
- Planning
- Waste collection
- Parks and green spaces
- Environmental health
- Leisure services
As part of a response to the announcement, Chair of the District Councils Network Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, said:
“Compared to many other countries, England already proportionately has far fewer councils, each typically covering far more people. A top-down reorganisation would make us even more of an outlier, with even more powers being held far from local people.
“District councils are close to our communities. Because of this we’re trusted – our communities and businesses know that districts deliver when it comes to providing local services. This dependability could be at risk.
“None of this is to say that local government boundaries should be set in stone – viable proposals do sometimes emerge from local areas in response to communities’ changing needs. But in the spirit of devolution, it is essential that any such proposals genuinely emerge from local democratic bodies rather than be forced upon councils from Whitehall.”
The suggestion from the government is that this reorganisation will bring cost savings, however the DCN has said that this is open for discussion. Not mentioned in the government’s planned reorganisation is whether or not this will improve the ways that councils work alongside other public services such as the NHS and the police.
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