The Government’s John Denham has been told by Suffolk Coastal
that he should throw out the recommendations given to him for the
future shape of local councils in Suffolk because they are fatally
flawed.
The Communities and Local Government Secretary of State has been
sent a detailed explanation of Suffolk Coastal’s grave misgivings
about the Boundary Committee for England’s (BCE) final
recommendations, along with alternatives that would better suit
local communities.
“We know our communities want and deserve high quality value for
money services that they can have a direct say in, but we have told
Mr Denham that the BCE’s proposal will not deliver that in our
county, and indeed will wreck our efforts to do just that,” said
Cllr Ray Herring, Leader of Suffolk Coastal.
“Whatever gloss the BCE has put on its proposals, the stark
reality is that the financial figures are wildly out of date, that
it will exclude rather than involve local people, that it does not
recognise the different needs of our varied communities, and that
it does not reflect what the people of Suffolk actually want.
“It would be a real leap in the dark by Mr Denham if he was to
support these flimsy recommendations. I call on him to throw out
the BCE’s proposals as the financial, service and democratic cost
of them could be enormous for our communities if they were
implemented,” added Cllr Herring.
A joint delegation from Suffolk Coastal and Waveney met Mr
Denham’s junior minister Rosie Winterton last week (Tuesday) when
the Councils' Leaders, Cllr Herring and Cllr Mark Bee, outlined
their concerns about the BCE’s review.
“In my view, if the Government insists on introducing unitary
councils beyond Ipswich, then our proposed model of three councils
for East Suffolk, Ipswich and West Suffolk would be the best way
forward.
“However, if Mr Denham recognises that the flaws in the BCE’s
proposals are so fundamental as to make them worthless, then there
is still a way forward that will meet Suffolk’s challenges of the
future without the introduction of unitary councils.
“Suffolk Coastal and Waveney are developing a ‘super-district’
model to reflect the shared ambitions of our communities, and
similar agreements are also underway involving Babergh and Mid
Suffolk. We are ready to press ahead with our work which will
ensure that our communities receive a high quality of service, and
value for money, in a way that they can be fully involved with,”
added Cllr Herring.
A central criticism of the BCE is that it has failed to update
its financial workbooks, and has therefore ignored the impact of
the recession on all the councils’ income and assets or the fact
that they have already delivered major savings on their spending.
The BCE’s own financial advisors had already warned that the
financial analysis needed to be revisited.
As the Courts had recognised, there are also serious doubts
about the legality of the review and the BCE’s perceived failure to
give any consideration to the options proposed by Suffolk Coastal,
Waveney, Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury councils.
Copies of the letter sent to Mr Denham, plus Suffolk Coastal’s
formal response to the BCE’s recommendations, and its proposals for
the future of local government in Suffolk, can be found on
www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/yourcouncil/future