The Boundary Committee for England (BCE) has carried out a
review of local government in Suffolk which was meant to recommend
whether one or more unitary councils should be set up to take over
from the existing top two tiers that include district/borough
councils and the county council.
Government fudges decision and calls for a convention
On 10 February 2010, the Government announced that it had been
unable to decide whether to introduce unitary councils in Suffolk
as there was 'not a consensus on a unitary solution' for Suffolk. A
statement issued by the Government is below, along with a letter
from its Department of Communities and Local Government.
The Government has called on all the Suffolk councils, with
local MPs, stakeholders and through a 'county constitutional
convention' to reach a consensus. Suffolk Coastal and Waveney's
joint statement issued in response to this news is also listed
below. At present there are no further details on the Government's
intentions.
On 7 December 2009 the BCE
issued its final recommendations to the
Government for the future shape of local government in Suffolk.
There was a Government deadline of 19 January
2010 for comments from the public and the
councils affected by the proposals - giving everyone just six weeks
to make their comments.
The Government had previously intended to allow nine weeks worth
for consultation because ‘there has been a range of diverse views
about possible unitary structures and sometimes contentious
debate’. However, the shorter deadline was justified by the
Department of Communities and Local Government on the basis it
would still give enough time for Parliament to vote on the
Secretary of State’s decision if he had decided to introduce
unitary councils in Suffolk, and for it to be implemented from 1
April 2011.
Suffolk Coastal's response to the Secretary of State for
Communities and Local Government
On 19 January 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and
Local Government, John Denham, was told by Suffolk Coastal that he
should reject the BCE's recommendations for the future shape of
local councils in Suffolk because they are fatally flawed.
You can read the covering letter and the documents sent to the
Secretary of State in response to the BCE’s recommendations by
following the links below:
Final recommendations published for the future shape of local
government in Suffolk
On 7 December 2009 the BCE issued its final recommendations to
the Government, giving the Secretary of State for Communities and
Local Government two choices - its preferred option of one giant
council for all of Suffolk (the so-called One Suffolk option) or an
Ipswich/Felixstowe unitary (the so-called North Haven option) along
with a Rural Suffolk unitary council covering the rest of the
county. Follow the links below to read the documents issued by the
BCE:
Once the BCE provided its advice it was up to the Secretary
of State to take a decision on whether:
- To implement the original (Ipswich Borough Council) proposal,
with or without modification.
- To implement the Committee’s alternative proposal (as published
on 7 December 2009), with or without modification.
- Take no action.
High Court ruling set aside by Court of Appeal
On 2 December 2009, the Court of Appeal handed down its
judgement in relation to the BCE's appeal against the High Court
judgement handed down on 10 July 2009, following the judicial
review requested by Suffolk Coastal, St Edmundsbury and Forest
Heath councils.
The Court of Appeal found in favour of the BCE and set
aside the High Court decision to quash the further draft
proposals in Suffolk because the process was flawed.
A joint press release was issued by Forest Heath, Suffolk
Coastal, St Edmundsbury and Waveney councils in response to the
judgment: Council
Leaders say residents' voices will be heard despite lost
appeal.
Government puts review on hold
Following the High Court ruling made on 10 July (see below), the
Government announced on 14 July that the BCE no longer had a date
by which it had to publish its recommendations as to what, if any,
changes would be made to local government in Suffolk.
Follow the links below to view the exchange of letters between
the BCE and the Government:
Follow this link for help with downloading and opening PDF files.
High Court ruling on the review
On 10 July, Mr Justice Foskett ruled that the planned
publication by the BCE of its final recommendations on 15 July 2009
was flawed as the process used by the BCE in drawing up its final
recommendations was flawed.
The judgement was made following a judicial review requested by
Suffolk Coastal, St Edmundsbury and Forest Heath councils. A
press
statement was issued by the four councils including Suffolk
Coastal that have been calling on the BCE to consider creating
three unitary councils, East, West and Ipswich, in Suffolk.
BCE draft proposals - March 2009
Follow the links below to view the draft proposals from the BCE
that were published on 19 March 2009. These proposals were
dismissed as flawed by the High Court ruling of 10 July 2009, which
was subsequently overturned by the Appeal Court on 2 December
2009.
Suffolk Coastal issued the following press release in response
to the BCE's proposals: Review has turned into a farce.
The proposals are the same as the two options that the BCE
published in July 2008, except that they are now
proposing that Lowestoft is retained in Suffolk. The revised
options are:
- A Suffolk unitary authority comprising the existing county of
Suffolk.
- An Ipswich & Felixstowe unitary authority and a Rural
Suffolk unitary authority comprising the rest of the county of
Suffolk.
Suffolk Coastal's response the March 2009 proposals
Our response to the BCE and the Secretary of State was very
clear. If unitary government has to be introduced in Suffolk then
we believe our proposal for East Suffolk, West Suffolk and Ipswich
unitaries is the only logical model. However, we would suggest that
now is not the time to be looking at introducing any significant
reorganisation in Suffolk but to leave us to get on with delivering
core services for our residents and tackling our budgetary
pressures.
We wrote to all of our towns and parishes (see below) advising
them of our stance and to remind them that they do not have to sign
up to either option put forward by the BCE. They can also put
forward their own views including enhancement to the current ‘three
tier’ model.
Suffolk Coastal's preferred unitary option
Suffolk Coastal’s preferred unitary
option is for three councils - East Suffolk, which would
include Felixstowe, Kesgrave and Lowestoft; West Suffolk; and
Ipswich.
Our leaflet
'Make Suffolk Three' (new window PDF 152KB)
explains our preferred option in more detail.
You can also view our
response to the BCE's earlier draft
proposals.