The Conservative leaders of Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council have suggested the county goes from ten councils to just two in the future.
Cllrs Philip Jackson (North East Lincolnshire), Rob Waltham (North Lincolnshire), and Martin Hill (Lincolnshire) have written to Deputy Prime Minister and Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner, after a government call for local government reorganisation proposals. While not a detailed proposal, the trio have made an expression of interest for Lincolnshire to have just two unitary or upper tier authorities.
If it happened, it would result in all of Lincolnshire’s district councils being scrapped, and potentially the merger of the two northern Lincolnshire councils into one. The council leaders state in the letter they are open to deferring 2025 scheduled local elections in Lincolnshire.
For North East Lincolnshire, it is requested consideration is given to also calling off all-out elections in 2026 after boundary review changes, if a move to two councils across the whole county is progressed.
Before Christmas, the Government set out its intention for widespread reorganisation to get rid of ‘two-tier’ council systems, where there are district councils, and made recommendations as to the size and structure of unitary authorities. Councils were invited to come forward by January 10 to be considered for the first phase.
The trio’s letter, dated January 9, states they are keen to work with government officials to progress opportunities. However, it is recognised that currently Greater Lincolnshire does not meet criteria to be a priority for local government reorganisation.
Cllr Jackson said: “Our determined and constructive work with Government in recent years has achieved an extremely good outcome with the creation of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority and this can now continue as we look to work with the recommendations and very clear message to the entire local government sector set out in the white paper. North East Lincolnshire is achieving much as a unitary authority and a priority is that the people who live and work here benefit from continued delivery.
“I wish to reassure everyone that, if there is any change, we are determined to ensure that our area must continue to grow.” Cllr Waltham, who is standing to be Greater Lincolnshire’s new Mayor in May, noted devolution plans are well under way. “We have responded to the Government’s agenda to reduce the number of councils. Our only ambition is to create efficient services that are responsive to local residents and provide value for taxpayers’ money. Devolution is a real opportunity to bring well paid jobs to the area and improve transport for residents across Lincolnshire.”
Cllr Hill added: “Although we do not meet the criteria for the priority programme, we don’t feel our devolution deal should be a barrier to seeking reorganisation, in fact we are well placed to fast track reorganisation for Greater Lincolnshire. “The trio’s letter says all “have always been clear that we are supportive of reorganisation once we have achieved our ambitions for devolution”.
They also express confidence that their proposal for two unitaries across the county would get support. “We are clear that moving to a unitary model for Greater Lincolnshire would deliver considerable financial savings to the public purse and enable essential services to be protected,” the letter states.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
