Buckinghamshire is currently managed by 5 separate authorities, the County Council and the 4 district councils. This means that there are 5 sets of costly office buildings, 5 sets of administration and overheads and 5 sets of councillors. Believe it or not, there are no less than 256 elected council members in Buckinghamshire, not far off half the number of MPs in parliament!
Tradition and vested interests are largely to blame for Buckinghamshire being governed by this out of date system. Elsewhere in England 56 areas now have unitary status and in Wales, all the local authorities are unitary.
Recent experience in Wiltshire as reported by Lord Heseltine is a good example of the benefits waiting for Buckinghamshire. This is what he said:
“The transitional costs of creating the unitary Wiltshire Council were £18 million. This compares to a saving of a total £68 million between 2009 and 2013. Back office costs now only comprise 9 percent of Wiltshire Council’s budget as opposed to 19 percent for its predecessor bodies. The new authority has achieved procurement savings of £36 million through increased buying power and stronger market position. Wiltshire Council has found that customers find accessing its services considerably easier with much less confusion about who is responsible for what. The council is also now in a much stronger position to support economic growth and improve the future prospects of residents and businesses.”
The next chance for Bucks to apply for unitary status will not come until after the general election, by which time the ground work for this reorganisation must be in place. I will campaign tirelessly for the unitary principle and the benefits it will bring.
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