Cabinet backs one council for Norfolk

Councillors have backed a report which says replacing Norfolk's eight councils with one would save £36.2m per year and deliver the biggest benefits to residents.

Norfolk County Council's cabinet today selected a single unitary council as its preferred option, which will be developed into a detailed proposal and submitted to the Government in September.

County council leader, Councillor Kay Mason Billig, said the council had gathered and considered evidence and listened to the public's priorities - value for money, no fragmentation of services and keeping services as local as possible. She said: "That all adds up to one Norfolk and one council."

The Government wants to replace existing county and district councils in England with fewer, unitary councils - which deliver all services in their area. It has asked councils to submit options.

Norfolk County Council has studied data and evidence on the pros and cons of one, two or three unitary councils and asked the public what mattered to them about local councils and services. It is proposing that its preferred option is one unitary council, covering the whole area.

Having one council would cut costs, join up services for residents and ensure strong financial foundations, according to the draft options appraisal report considered by the cabinet.

The county council's report says that the key benefits of one council for Norfolk are:

• A single council would mean consistent services, delivered across the whole of Norfolk, with equal levels of Council Tax, service quality and services available, wherever you live
• It would save £36.2m per year, by cutting duplication, reducing the number of chief officers and councillors and having economies of scale when purchasing services. Start-up costs would be repaid in a year
• It avoids the risks and costs of splitting up complex, county-wide services like adult social services, children's services and highways - which would incur extra costs of between £20.4m and £33.6m per year, if there were two or three unitary councils
• It recognises the role of greater Norwich as an economic centre of activity for the whole county and highlights the importance of not creating an artificial boundary around it, which would stifle growth
• The report's conclusion says: "We have an opportunity to create a new council for Norfolk which can:
• Be a powerful advocate for Norfolk - speaking up and influencing as one voice for local communities, creating more impact, both with any Norfolk/Suffolk mayor and with the Government, businesses and investors
• Be accountable - our residents would know that one council was responsible for all of the services, removing confusion. There would be one set of locally elected councillors, with one set of elections
• Be efficient - removing duplication and bureaucracy and joining up services to deliver better value for money
• Enable devolution - through a single, clear and concise set of strategic priorities for Norfolk and simplifying decision-making
• Avoid the use of untested models for delivering critical services to children, families, older people and some of the most vulnerable of our residents"

Now that a preferred option has been selected, there will be further engagement. The preferred option will be developed into a detailed proposal, to be submitted to the Government by 26 September. Ministers will take the final decision on what council structure to adopt.

For further details, see www.norfolk.gov.uk/lgr