Communities Secretary warns councils ahead of change to process on reorganisations

The Communities Secretary has warned councils that from March 2019 a sunset clause means that the consent provisions in the process the government is currently using for local government reorganisations would fall away.

In a written ministerial statement James Brokenshire said: “In future, any proposal considered under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act process will require unanimous consent from all councils. Alternatively, I may issue a formal invitation for proposals, and the specific circumstances in which I would do so will be set out in due course.”

The minister’s comments came as he backed the creation of a single unitary council in Buckinghamshire to replace the county council and four districts - Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe.

Brokenshire’s predecessor Sajid Javid had said in March this year that he favoured the single unitary option, which has been promoted by the county, instead of the establishment of two new unitary councils (one for North Bucks and one for South Bucks), an alternative championed by the districts. Milton Keynes has been excluded from both plans.

Brokenshire said he had received more than 3,000 representations since then, and that he was clear that there was broad consent for change in Buckinghamshire.

He highlighted a survey, conducted by Opinion Research Services of a representative sample of residents, which found that 75% agreed with the principle of reorganisation in Buckinghamshire, and overall 87% of the representations made to him supported change. “Both proposals made it clear that retaining the status quo is not an option.”

Having assessed both proposals against the criteria that the government has previously set out for local government reorganisations, the minister said he had “concluded that whilst both proposals meet the criterion for a ‘good deal of local support’, only the proposal for a single unitary council satisfies the criteria for ‘improving local government’ and for ‘being a credible geography’ and that in any event the proposal for a single unitary council is better able to meet the criteria overall.”

Brokenshire continued: “Given the desire and thrust for change and innovation in Buckinghamshire, that the five councils agree that the current structures are not sustainable, and that the locally-led proposal for a single unitary is the only proposal that meets the three criteria, I am persuaded that the right course of action is to establish a new single unitary district council for Buckinghamshire.”

His decision to implement the single unitary option is subject to Parliamentary approval.

Brokenshire said he recognised that some had questioned whether such a structure might weaken local democratic engagement at the most local level. “To help reassure any who might be concerned on this, I intend to speak with the five councils to determine whether I should modify the proposal before implementing it, in relation to councillor numbers, perhaps providing for three-member electoral wards.”

The minister added that he would also expect the new unitary council, and in the meantime the existing councils, to engage with their local communities about the appropriate arrangements for civic representation for towns and parishes.

“I similarly expect the councils to promote and help support the development of neighbourhood plans, as I consider these can be key building blocks for the successful implementation of change in Buckinghamshire that residents deserve,” he said.

Brokenshire noted that further steps had been taken to secure local consent amongst local partners for a single unitary, after Javid had warned that more needed to be done in this area.

“The great majority of local partners do support the proposal for a single unitary council including the police, the ambulance service, CCG, NHS Trust, Independent Chair of the Adult Safeguarding Board, Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, and Bucks Business First. In addition to enjoying a good deal of local support, I am satisfied that the proposal meets the requirement for local consent set out in the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.”

The minister said he intended to prepare and lay before Parliament drafts of the necessary secondary legislation to give effect to his decision. “My intention is that if Parliament approves this legislation the new council will be established on 1 April 2020 with the first elections to the council held on 7 May 2020.”

He added that he would explore with the district councils whether they would like him to make and lay before Parliament an Order to delay for one year the May 2019 local elections in Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe, so as to avoid councillors being elected for only one year if Parliament approves the legislation establishing the new council.

Responding to the announcement, Cllr Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council, said: “This is a truly historic day for Buckinghamshire. The announcement paves the way for a brand new council, fit for the future, created by combining the best of both county and district councils. This new council will be simpler, better value and more local to our residents. It will also have more clout to face head-on the great strategic challenges facing the county over the coming decades.

“There has been robust debate over the last couple of years over how best to modernise Buckinghamshire’s out-dated two-tier system. Everyone has agreed that a change to a unitary form of governance is the only way forward.”

Cllr Tett added: “Now a decision has been made it is the time to put the past behind us and work together, to build the better future Buckinghamshire’s residents deserve.”

In a joint statement the four district councils said they were disappointed with the Secretary of State’s decision.

“The Secretary of State has previously stated there was a need to ensure broad consensus and we do not believe this has been achieved with the new single unitary district proposal,” they said.

“All four district councils, as well as many key stakeholders, firmly believe that the two unitary authority approach, based on the two different economic geographies in Buckinghamshire, is the best option for protecting, delivering and transforming the services needed both now and in the future.”

The statement said the four authorities would now be considering their position, “seeking further advice and reviewing the options available to us”.