“Super council‘ plans could soon be back on the table after Nottingham County Council revealed they have plans to ‘examine proposals to revisit the issue’.
All councils, including Gedling Borough Council, would be scrapped if the controversial plans were approved by the government – as Nottinghamshire would be managed by one new larger council.
Nottinghamshire County Council’s Policy Committee will now be asked to agree to write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government seeking an invitation from him for all principal local authorities in Nottinghamshire to submit proposals for the establishment of a unitary structure.
This move comes in the light of the developing Government policy on regional devolution to be outlined in the White Paper “Devolution and Local Recovery”, due to be published later this Autumn.
The report outlines the financial and resilience challenges facing local government as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its long-term impact on public finances, and identifies that the development of unitary local government in Nottinghamshire offers a more financially efficient means of preserving and delivering effective public services and securing a sustainable recovery from COVID-19.
Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Cllr Kay Cutts, said: “I believe that unitary local government for our great County will deliver better services that everyone will be able to access more easily; better value for money for every Council Tax payer, and more prosperity for all.
“Government policy is certainly moving in that direction and recognises that to aid our recovery from the COVID pandemic, structural reform to unlock investment is vital.
“The current system of local government in Nottinghamshire is out-dated, cumbersome, wasteful and costly. We have a unique opportunity now to build a new way of delivering modern, integrated public services that works for every resident.”
