The Government’s announcement today
(Wednesday) that no changes will be made to local councils in
Suffolk until after a special countywide meeting is held to agree
the way forward has been attacked as causing even more
uncertainty.
Suffolk Coastal and Waveney want to concentrate on delivering more
efficient services and even better value in the future, and had
called on the Government to reject the Boundary Committee for
England’s (BCE) final fatally flawed recommendations for
Suffolk.
“We congratulate the Government for not implementing the BCE’s
final report. The stark reality is that the financial figures were
wildly out of date, that it would exclude rather than involve local
people, that it did not recognise the different needs of our varied
communities, and that it did not reflect what the people of Suffolk
actually want,” said Cllr Ray Herring, Leader of Suffolk Coastal
and Cllr Mark Bee, Leader of Waveney.
“We can and will meet Suffolk’s challenges - Suffolk Coastal
and Waveney are developing a ‘super-district’ model to reflect the
shared ambitions of our communities, and indeed only last night
(Tuesday) we had our first public Joint Board meeting, and similar
partnership agreements are also underway involving Babergh and Mid
Suffolk.
“We are ready to press ahead with our work to ensure our
communities receive a high quality of service, and value for money,
in a way that they can be fully involved with. We have had to
put up with an unsettling uncertainty about our future since 2007
and this latest fudge from the Government will cause even more
delays and distractions.
“While we welcome the fact that now the communities of Suffolk may
at long last have the chance to have their voice heard at this
County Constitutional Convention, we are not sure whether we will
be able to consult with everyone either before such an event, or
about the conclusions that could emerge, or whether there will be
any Government support for any changes.
“One thing that must not avoid close scrutiny is the actions of the
BCE, who must itself now be reviewed. The way its review was
conducted was farcical and showed a complete disregard for local
councils, communities and democracy. We have all been losers
because of the half-hearted and half-baked way the BCE has acted,”
added Cllrs Herring and
Bee.