Although the submission the County Council made is very detailed, it is essentially a proposal in response to the Government's Invitation document. As such, the proposal needs to be developed further and there will be major opportunities for council workers to be involved in developing and shaping a brand new local government organisation for the County.
The one council proposal involves bringing the best of county and district council services together to create a new County Durham unitary council. For many staff, being part of a larger organisation will provide new development and career opportunities.
Currently, the majority of council employees work from local authority establishments across County Durham. This would not change with a single unitary council and it is important to make clear that all services would not be run from County Hall in Durham, as some have tried to suggest. In fact, the unitary council proposal involves devolving power and resources out of 'town halls' and includes a specific commitment to locate the local authority workforce in a way which sustains local economies across the County.
With the duplication which currently exists between county and district council management structures, reorganisation will inevitably involve some job losses. Overall, the proposal involves 180 job losses out of a total local government workforce in the County of 22,500 staff. The main impact would be felt in senior management roles and no job losses have been proposed in frontline services.
Please see the message to council staff about the Government's announcement.