Gedling’s MP this week criticised plans to overhaul local authorities by scrapping Nottinghamshire’s councils and create new larger authorities
The government says that the current system is overly complicated.
Michael Payne, who represents Gedling, has been first to publicly question the planned reorganisation.
He made the comments during a House of Commons debate.
Payne said his constituents had told him “loud and clear” they did not want a change.
He said: “Do we really want local authority staff to be focused on a multi-year reorganisation process or do we want them to be getting on with the job and growing their local economies?”
“The government have rightly pointed out that certainty is essential to economic growth, so may I be so bold as to suggest that certainty in local government – whether it is a planner knowing that they have a job in the future or a local authority knowing that it will exist in two years’ time – is also essential?”
Some Labour MPs in the East Midlands differ on where the new boundaries should be drawn, but Payne has been first to publicly question the logic of the reorganisation.
But Alex Norris, the communities minister and Nottingham North MP, disagreed.
He said it was time to ‘simplify things’.
“I am thinking of parts of my constituency that have five tiers of government,” he said.
“They have an elected mayor, they have me in this place, they have a county council, they have a borough council and they have a town council.”
Norris assured MPs that people’s views would be taken into account.
“In the next few months to November, when we expect proposals to be submitted, we have an opportunity to have those conversations,” he said.
alex norris bound to disagree his constituency is based mostly in the city of nottingham not the shire of nottingham,he is not a bad mp but he has to look after his own constituents like michael payne has to look after his on this issue.