Agenda item

(Voting: unanimous in favour)

The Chairman said the timetable for the unitary proposals had been escalated as the County Council had already submitted their One Somerset unitary authority bid to the Secretary of State.  She outlined the history of the work of the 5 Somerset Councils to work more closely to deliver local government in a better way and the decision of the County Council to pursue their single unitary bid.  The Stronger Somerset bid by the 4 District Councils proposed two unitary councils which focussed on sustainable services, a stronger economy and improved quality of life.  She said over the previous 30 years, various forms of unitary governance had been proposed, the most recent being 2007 which was not pursued by the Government. 

The Chairman said the proposals were not just about reducing costs but also finding a better way to use the available resources.  The current financial challenges would not improve soon and the demand for services would not reduce.  If the District Councils were invited by the Secretary of State to submit a business case for unitary status then they needed to be able to respond in a timely manner.  She commended the Business Case to Members and invited questions.

Councillor John Clark said he supported the business case and read out a statement explaining his reasons as scale, democracy and reform.  He said there were currently 269 County and District Councillors representing a population of 569,000 which was 2,115 residents per Councillor.  The single unitary option proposed 100 Councillors which would mean nearly 6,000 residents per Councillor which was a 63% reduction in local representation.  The two unitary proposal would mean a reduction of 26% which was acceptable.  He said the District Councils were more involved with local towns, villages and residents and he felt the single unitary authority would not embrace the current local involvement. 

During discussion, the following points were made:-

·         There was no recognition of the current differences between County and District Authorities roles and services. 

·         The County proposal was the disbanding of all 5 Somerset Councils and together forming a new one with the shadow cabinet comprising of the existing Leaders and Chief Executives of all 5 councils.  It was not a take-over by one council or another.

·         The Stronger Somerset business case needed typos correcting.

·         Somerset should learn from the mistakes made by previous unitary authorities during their formation. 

·         The business case had looked at the issues facing Somerset and there was a stronger link to communities and councillor representation in the Stronger Somerset bid.  It also acknowledged the differences in industry between the east of the county and the west.

·         Modern ways of working through collaboration with a wider partnership were proposed in the Stronger Somerset bid.

·         The last unitary council bid in 2007 was not supported by the local population in the poll. 

·         Each Unitary Authority would have its own Constitution but there may be some services which could be delivered in collaboration with the police, health sector, Town and Parish Councils and local communities so they were focussed on outcomes.

·         The proposed Childrens Trust would be separate in a similar way to the current Somerset Waste Partnership and would provide services jointly commissioned by the Unitary Councils.

·         A Combined Authority was not a separate tier of Government but set up specifically to deliver outcomes.

·         Change had to be made in local government and the Stronger Somerset business case would provide better representation for the people of Somerset.

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee said they thanked the Programme Director and her team for producing the Stronger Somerset business case during the pandemic and were impressed by the thoroughness of the document.  He said that most of their questions sought clarification and responses were provided by the Chief Executive and Programme Director.  Further detail had been requested on Education and the Childrens Trust to be set up.  A glossary had been requested.  Overall it was felt the proposal would provide better outcomes for the people of Somerset and a better democratic representation. 

The Chairman stressed that the business case was only outline and further work would be done to add detail.  She thanked the Scrutiny Committee for their comments.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman proposed the recommendations and they was seconded by Councillor Peter Gubbins.  A named vote was taken and the recommendations were unanimously confirmed by Members.

(Voting: unanimous in favour)