A unitary authority for Cumbria could be £15m a year cheaper to run than the existing model of a county council and six district councils, according to initial findings from financial consultants.
It means a new countywide unitary authority would comfortably meet the financial criteria laid out in the Local Government White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' .
The new figures have been calculated by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the consultants commissioned by the county council last month to carry out a financial modelling and feasibility study on how a new countywide unitary authority could work.
The financial modelling is necessary because the White Paper stipulates that any proposals for new unitary arrangements must include detailed financial modelling for 4 years plus 2 preparatory years - a total of 6 years, as well as a base budget for 2006/7. The government has indicated it will hold new authorities to account for delivering services within the budget parameters that they have modelled.
As well as being more efficient, the new authority would also be less bureaucratic. The number of chief executives would be reduced from seven to one and also the number of senior directors would also be reduced significantly. One option being explored in the unitary proposal is to reduce the number of councillors in Cumbria from its current 371 to 84. It would mean more power and responsibility for those that are elected - meaning that the councillors that people vote for could be more effective in getting things done in their own area.
The new countywide model being formulated would also have a greater focus on the local places where people live than the current model. A model being explored is to divide the county into between 20 and 30 Community Boards, each would have their own Service Centre - where people could access council services right on their doorstep. Local people will be consulted on how these Community Boards will be organised, and there will be a strong emphasis on working closely with existing parish and town councils, market town initiatives and voluntary organisations to deliver local services.
Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said: "The initial findings as we build a business case is that we're in a win-win-win situation. The new authority would be cheaper to run, less bureaucratic and more able to deliver local solutions to local problems. We still have a month to go before a detailed proposal is voted on at Full Council, but the the early signs are that the case for a Unitary Cumbria is a compelling one."
Joan Stocker, Deputy Leader, said: "This model counters the argument that a unitary authority would be too big and distant to represent the whole of Cumbria. Much of the decision-making and power will be transferred down to a local level - we're taking the coalface of the council into the community. At the moment, Cumbria is divided into six districts; if we were to increase these four-fold, then each area would have a lot more local focus. At the same time the corporate core sitting above the Community Boards would be far more efficient through cutting out waste and duplication and sharing backoffice functions such as HR, IT and administration."
Stewart Young, Leader of the Labour Group, said: "We want to see 'double devolution', where the centre of the new authority has a strong single voice on strategic matters, but other decisions are taken at the most appropriate level. In some cases that will be by local councillors for an area, but wherever possible we want devolution from there to the grassroots." And Jack Richardson, Leader of the Conservative Group, said: "We've been working to an incredibly tight deadline and more work needs to be done before we can present a final model of how a unitary Cumbria could work. But this financial modelling proves that the incentive is there to make this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity work. I'm a firm believer that a unitary Cumbria is clearly the best option for everyone in the county and they will notice a real difference if and when this happens. It will also allow us speak with one strong voice for our county and make Cumbria stronger overall."
Notes for editors
The Local Government White Paper 'Strong and Prosperous Communities' invites local authorities to consider whether local services and local democracy would be better served by creating one or more new unitary authority/ies to replace the existing two-tier County and District Council model.
Once the county council's consultation and financial modelling on the most appropriate unitary model has been completed and a full business case has been formulated, its findings will be presented to a Full Council meeting on January 18th. Only then will the council decide whether to launch a formal proposal for a new unitary authority to meet the Government's deadline of 25 January 2007.
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332