It includes a commitment to provide strategic support to the sector and to support the County Durham Association of Local Councils' policy of working towards full parishing of the County, where there is local community demand.
In general, unitary local government would provide town and parish councils with a more straightforward relationship with principal councils than under the existing two-tier structure, because there would be only one council to deal with in an area, as opposed to the two currently (county and district councils).
The unitary council submission proposes giving local councils with more say on local services and regulatory decisions, such as planning and licensing matters.
In response to interest from some councils, the proposal also calls for legislative changes to enable town and parish councils where willing, to take on local regulatory decision-making and for town and for parish councils in general, to be recognised as statutory consultees on a broader range of regulatory decisions such as licensing matters. The extent of any changes to the authority of town and parish councils would be down to the individual councils concerned.
The proposal suggests that unitary councillors would work with local town and parish councils to improve and represent the needs of local communities and neighbourhoods. This would be supported by redirecting some of the cost savings achieved through unitary reorganisation, towards neighbourhood budgets which would average about £50,000 per unitary council ward.
Whilst the reorganisation of councils onto a unitary basis includes a proposal to equalise council tax levels for principal council services across the County, this does not affect the ability of town and parish councils to set their own precepts.
In terms of specific outcomes for town and parish councils, the unitary council proposal includes: