It is a bad time to be making predictions, as Nick Robinson of the BBC (who claimed that there was no imminent plot to unseat Gordon Brown within an hour of last week’s coup) has found out to his cost.
No sooner was the ink dry on my recent ‘Year Ahead’ post that it became apparent that there are many in Suffolk who think that Local Government Reorganisation is dead in the water and that, this being the case, other plans must be made to secure the future of Babergh.
It has been reported in the press that Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Councils (marked 3 and 4 on the map above) are in talks with regard to the merger of some services and functions. This has elicited immediate criticism in some quarters, but it should be borne in mind that firstly these are only talks, secondly we already share services with other Councils, including Mid Suffolk, and on the whole these arrangements work well.
It should be stressed that at present a merger of the two councils is not in prospect. A separate act of parliament would be needed for this and there is no sign of any enthusiasm for this sort of arrangement coming from Westminster.
Whether people are keen on the idea of closer co-operation or not it is plain that, in the absence of the introduction of unitary authorities, something fundamental must be done to address the deteriorating financial positions of local authorities. Central government funding looks vulnerable and the recession, which savagely reduces our fee income, shows only hesitant signs of coming to an end.
