All 11 councils in Hertfordshire and the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) have now agreed a joint interim response to the Government outlining a number of initial options for the reorganisation of local government structures in the county.
From a Hertsmere perspective, at an extraordinary council meeting last night (Wednesday 19 March) the council reinforced its commitment to the borough's residents and businesses to champion local democracy, services and accountability.
Hertfordshire is what's known as a two-tier area with the county council responsible for services such as highways and transport, adult social care and children's services, and 10 district and borough councils providing services such as bin collections, street cleaning, environmental health, leisure and housing.
As part of its plans to reshape local government, on 5 February the Government invited councils in all two-tier areas to submit an interim plan by 21 March for moving to a single tier of unitary councils providing all services.
Hertfordshire’s councils and the OPCC’s shared priority remains ensuring that any changes benefit residents and businesses, maintains our excellent local government services, and enables strong democratic accountability to our communities.
All 11 councils and the OPCC worked together to produce the interim submission which has been shared with elected members at each individual organisation and Hertfordshire's MPs. .
The submission sets out a number of options for further consideration, ranging from one to four unitary councils providing all services.
It also includes early thinking on how each option could support devolution, improve services, deliver value for money and maintain strong links to communities.
While a joint submission has been agreed, councils have differing views on the options set out and no decisions are being made at this stage.
Councils and the OPCC will continue collaboration over the coming months to collate and analyse further evidence for each option.
The Government will provide feedback on the interim submission which will also inform the development of final proposals which need to be submitted to Government by 28 November for a decision by Ministers.
The views of residents, businesses, local government partners, council staff and and other stakeholders across the public and private sectors will be essential as proposals develop. Hertsmere Borough Council is committed to providing updates throughout the process.
The Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, Cllr Jeremy Newmark, commented: "At our council meeting, I reaffirmed that our priority remains to ensure that any changes benefit Hertsmere's residents and businesses whilst maintaining services and accountability. This has included working collaboratively with the other councils across the county to find viable options for consideration.
"We, along with the other district and borough councils in Hertfordshire, have deep concerns with the scale of change which would be proposed if moving to a single countywide authority and the adverse impact that would have on local connectivity and services. This is partly because it would become the largest unitary authority in the UK based on current figures.
"I also restated our commitment to consult widely with our residents, businesses, community and faith groups and other stakeholders over the coming months, a process we have already started."
For further updates, visit www.hertsmere.gov.uk/LGR
