On Thursday, while I was sunning myself at the seaside, the Strategy Committee was debating its recommendation to Council with regard to Local Government Reorganisation. They have decided to recommend that Babergh support two unitaries rather than ‘One Suffolk’, and also, in a frolic of our own, they are recommending that the boundary of the North Haven (Ipswich and Felixstowe) unitary is extended to include Hadleigh and its environs.
It seems that unlike many of my fellow councillors I am still wavering and prevaricating with regard to what I think about the Boundary Committee’s proposals. I am actually astonished that most people have been able to come to a firm view without the benefit of the all important financial facts and figures to support one or other of the two options. Luckily Hazel Blears will not be labouring under this disadvantage.
The more I think about it, and the closer that I look at the Boundary Committee’s recommendations, the more I feel that perhaps I have been too quickly seduced by the superficial charms of ‘rural’ versus ‘urban’ in tending to prefer the Boundary Committee’s first option of two unitary councils for Suffolk rather than one.
In order to be viable financially each council will need to have a reasonably large population and because of this it has been necessary to include areas that are undeniably rural in the ‘urban’ North Haven area. This rather undermines the basic premise. The inclusion of Hadleigh, which I happen to believe is ill advised given that areas such as Woodbridge are to be excluded, does nothing to resolve this dilemma. In addition, as has been acutely pointed out by Colin, what is to be done about Lowestoft? If one argues that this should be a part of Suffolk, and not hived off into the proposed vast Norfolk unitary, then unless it is to be some remote ‘sputnik’ of Ipswich geography dictates that it must fall into Rural Suffolk. Hardly appropriate I think!
In addition to these concerns, it is hard to ignore the inconvenient truth that One Suffolk is likely to be a cheaper option for Council Tax payers. It is probable that many of the economies of scale that would be achieved by One Suffolk will be lost with two councils due to the need to duplicate services that are currently run as one unit by the County Council.
I have been persuaded that to avoid an unacceptable ‘democratic deficit’ the smaller the council the better. However even with two councils the number of electors per councillor is going to be very large, and strong, and as yet unspecified, local arrangements will have to be put in place in any event.
While I wobble backwards and forwards, unable to come to a firm view, can I look to the people in my Ward to guide me? Well not really. Most people that I have spoken to are either indifferent to the issue, or in general would prefer the arrangements to be left as they are.
The truth has to be faced that I am fast coming to the view that NEITHER of the options on the table are particularly attractive. This view is shared, incidentally, by the Conservative Party centrally, which believes that the status quo should be maintained. Babergh has for some years now firmly set itself against this view, feeling that public services can only be efficiently and economically delivered by larger, unitary bodies. Perhaps this is true from the perspective of a small council with a limited tax base. I cannot help feeling however that, taking a broader view, the current proposals, whichever alternative one chooses, are not the right answer for the county as a whole.
