Cabinet at county backs development of business case for single unitary

The Cabinet at Buckinghamshire County Council has this week (9 May) approved the development of a business case for a single unitary council for the area.

In a statement Buckinghamshire said the aim was for the business case to be completed within the next three months, ready to be considered by Cabinet from September 2016.

It added that, in due course, there was the potential for an independent commission to be established which would examine all business cases developed to date including the county council’s if approved by Cabinet.

A commission could potentially include an independent chairman, town and parish councils in Buckinghamshire, and representatives from the local business community, and could also incorporate a public consultation process, the county suggested.

More information on the proposed business case can be found here.

The council's statement said: “The study will focus on the needs of the county as a whole by exploring a single unitary council option, thus ensuring that residents and key stakeholders have different government modernisation options to consider. It will place high-quality, cost-effective services for residents and businesses across Buckinghamshire and a strong and accountable local leadership at its heart.

“Cabinet members were in agreement that as well as detailing the financial elements, the business case should also make clear how services would be delivered in practice within a single unitary council, and how this would benefit residents across the county. They also agreed that collaboration and consultation with all the key partners and stakeholders, as well as residents, will be a crucial part of the process.”

Cllr Martin Tett, Buckinghamshire’s Leader, said: “The business case that Cabinet has agreed to develop will show how a single unitary council would streamline and simplify services for residents – something that is long overdue and that residents certainly tell us they want.

“Combined with the significant cost-savings to be gained over the medium term from economies of scale, a single unitary council model is a compelling option and one that should be ‘on the table’ for consideration.”

At its meeting on 28 April, the full council at Buckinghamshire backed plans for further integration of its legal services team with HB Public Law, the shared legal service based at the London Borough of Harrow.