After attending a couple of discussions on local government reorganisation which were both insightful and constructive.
All council leaders and Nottinghamshire MPs who participated in the meetings recognise that the government’s ask – to create single-tier authorities of 350,000 to 500,000 people – is rooted in the need to build sustainable local authorities for the future. Councils of all colours have experienced financial difficulties over recent years due to reduced central funding, more complex needs and changing demographics. These pressures aren’t going away quickly. Local government debt currently stands at around £100 billion, although I should emphasise that not all debt is bad … investing in social housing and town centres are positive things, for example.
Having led the northernmost Council in Nottinghamshire (Bassetlaw) and now as the MP for the southernmost constituency (Rushcliffe), I’d like to think that I’m well placed to make an objective recommendation to ministers.
My views are very simple. First and foremost, we need to create financially sustainable authorities in line with the government’s ask. The government is clear that this means merging upper (County) and lower (Borough) tier services, so ‘saving’ the existing two-tier council structure isn’t an option. Secondly, given this, we need to create new geographies that work and respect cultural identities. I believe this can be done successfully based on the existing building blocks of District / Borough / City councils, with no or very limited changes to existing boundaries.
Rushcliffe has the second largest tax base after Nottingham City. This means that the ‘tax pull’ from the south of Nottinghamshire is considerably higher than the north. This is something that will need to be considered carefully, given service demand is higher in the north of Nottinghamshire. In other words, it is likely to be harder to enable a ‘North Notts Council’ to ‘pay its way’. While the economic, transport and other service links between Rushcliffe and Nottingham City are obvious, there is a much broader tapestry to be considered. Rushcliffe may well need to be the largest existing authority in a new South or East Nottinghamshire to ensure a second authority within Nottinghamshire is financially sustainable. Nottinghamshire councils have collectively appointed a third-party to model various scenarios, and I support this decision.
To be abundantly clear, this means there are still multiple options on the table, so the upcoming local elections are not a referendum on one particular outcome, nor is it an election about ‘saving’ the existing set-up. It would be a mistake – and wholly unrealistic – for anyone to think so. The County Council will continue to provide vital services to residents over the next four years – road maintenance, education, special educational needs, adult social care etc. – and it is, therefore, incumbent on all of us to make sure that the best people are leading the authority from 02 May onwards.
Either way, local council leaders are committed to public consultation within the timescales requested by the government, and Nottinghamshire MPs have echoed calls for this so we can evidence the views of local people to the government. Final decisions will be approved by ministers, however.
