The Government has received 26 proposals for unitary local government from 15 different county areas, including County Durham. In addition, it has received five pathfinder proposals for improving two-tier areas.
It made an initial assessment of each submission against the key criteria laid out in its Invitation document. Each government department then assessed the proposals against their own policy agendas and priorities. Ministers then decided which proposals they wanted to take forward to the next stage, which is local stakeholder consultation.
Yes. The County Council commissioned an independent telephone survey of 1,000 residents by opinion polling specialists ICM. On the question of changing the current two-tier structure, 27 percent of respondents said it would be better to have one unitary council for the County, 17 percent said two unitary councils and 27 percent said it would be better to continue with the present two council structure but change the way the councils work together. The remainder either wanted no change or didn't know.
In the main, yes. The new councils would have a new set of councillors and senior managers and would provide a broader range of services than the current councils that exist in the County.
From cost savings which can be achieved by removing duplication and achieving greater economies of scale in back office support services. Overall, the County Council estimates that recurring annual cost savings of £21 million could be achieved through reorganisation.
No. One of the Government's stipulations is that reorganisation should be self-financing and not place a burden on council taxpayers. The proposal is based on meeting the costs of reorganisation from cost savings and existing reserves. In developing the submission, we have specifically sought to protect council taxpayers from the costs of reorganisation and proposed that with the cost savings which could be achieved through reorganisation, the new unitary council would be able to afford to reduce council tax charges for main council services for the majority of households in the County, so that everyone pays the same level as that in the current lowest district area.
No. The new unitary council would maintain a dispersed workforce across the County, locating key functions in different town centres, in order to sustain and support local town centre economies. Where possible, decision-making would be devolved to local area action partnerships so that decisions affecting local areas can be taken in the areas concerned.
We don't believe it will. The proposals we developed for one unitary council, would involve the loss of 180 or so jobs from the total local government workforce in the County of 22,500. Given the number of jobs losses involved and the length of time there would be in the run-up to establishing the new council, we would look to achieve this through natural staff turnover, as opposed to having to make compulsory redundancies.
As yet, we don't know what process the Government will put in place, but it's likely that some senior managers, from chief officers to heads of service, would need to re-apply for their jobs. Many other staff would be slotted into the new structure, if an equivalent post exists.
No. The Local Government Pension Scheme will not be affected by reorganisation.
No. Job evaluation and the move to 'single status' terms and conditions will continue as planned.