THE Conservatives are urging Reform UK to “think again” on plans for local government reorganisation.
An east-west split has been drawn up by Staffordshire County Council which could see Lichfield District Council merged into a new unitary authority with areas including Tamworth, East Staffordshire, Staffordshire Moorlands and Stoke-on-Trent.
It comes as the Government seeks to end two-tier council areas, meaning services delivered by the county council and district council would be delivered by a new single body instead.
The Reform UK leadership said the east-west move was “the fairest and most likely option to succeed” under the criteria set out.
But alternative proposals have been drawn up by Lichfield District Council for a three unitary option across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, which it says will best meet the needs of local communities.
Cllr Philip White, the opposition Conservative group’s leader at the county council, has now called for Reform UK to reconsider its submission ahead of a deadline next month.
He said:
“This proposal to split Staffordshire in two has been made without any meaningful consultation with residents – and has been put together by an accountancy firm with the sole aim of creating the proposal that most closely matches the Government’s criteria and therefore to make it as likely as possible it will be the option the Government picks.
“Local government reorganisation should not just be about putting in the winning bid – it should be about ensuring that any new councils created genuinely work for the people they serve.
“I am yet to speak to anyone who believes Stoke-on-Trent has any connection to areas like Tamworth and Lichfield, and the east will inevitably have to pay more tax to prop up the debt of Stoke-on-Trent.
“There are other options for new councils that deliver savings without completely losing the ‘local’ from our councils and we are urging Reform to think again and come up with a new proposal.”
Cllr Cooper has previously highlighted the need to push ahead with a proposal which has the best chance of succeeding under the Government criteria.
He said:
“This is a Government driven demand, Government driven deadlines and ultimately a Government decision.
“”We have worked within the Government’s parameters and the east-west option is the one option for reorganisation in Staffordshire which scored highest against the criteria and against financial scrutiny, and is the fairest and most likely option to succeed for the county and the city.
“We will be making it clear to Government when we submit our option that our conversations will not stop on 28th November as we will continue to challenge to promote the best interest of our residents, our businesses and our county.”
But Cllr White said the east-west split would be a “terrible arrangement” if it came to fruition.
“The best solution would be for this pointless reorganisation to be dropped altogether – and we are pleased that the council leadership have agreed to our proposal to write a cross-party letter to the Government to ask them to cancel plans for local government reorganisation in Staffordshire.
“We hope that they will also listen to our call to rethink their local government reorganisation plan, which would leave Staffordshire with a terrible arrangement for many years to come.”
