Local government reorganisation 'not a solution to the financial challenges' facing councils

Local government reorganisation which could see neighbouring councils merge ‘is not a solution to the financial challenges facing local authorities’, a Royal Borough report has said.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday night, council leader Simon Werner warned that any merger between RBWM and other councils will see ‘big increases in council tax’.

Cllr Werner shared concerns over local government reorganisation and what it could mean for residents in the Royal Borough.

In December, the Government unveiled its English Devolution White Paper which looks to move away from the two-tier structure of district and county councils to create new unitary authorities serving a population of 500,000 or more.

Existing unitaries under the 500,000 threshold – including RBWM and other councils – are ‘also in scope of the proposals but no timeline has been set’, the cabinet report added.

Neighbouring Slough Borough Council (SBC) discussed the paper at a cabinet meeting in February and agreed to work ‘positively’ with members, partners and other key stakeholders to ‘develop proposals for devolution and re-organisation, at pace’.

Cllr Werner said that because the Royal Borough is already a unitary authority, it has not been asked by the Government to look into LGR.

But because RBWM is a small authority, re-organisation is ‘certainly a possibility’, he added.

Some Berkshire authorities have already commenced conversations, with West Berkshire already talking to South Oxfordshire and the Vale of the White Horse.

Cllr Werner also spoke against Conservative Windsor MP Jack Rankin’s suggestion to create a wider East Berkshire authority.

In December, Mr Rankin wrote a letter to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, in which he said ‘in my view there should be a wider East Berkshire unitary authority with parish and town councils empowered (and formed in Windsor’s case)’.

Cllr Werner added: “An East Berkshire authority would cover, of course, Slough – the most East Berkshire authority in Berkshire – as well as Bracknell and as well as Windsor and Maidenhead.

“Uniting Windsor and Maidenhead with Slough seems the most bizarre suggestion, with its even bigger financial problems and its massive council tax.

“Merging with Slough will mean council tax bills increasing by up to 40 per cent.

“To be honest, any merger of Windsor and Maidenhead with other councils will see big increases in council tax, because of course, our council tax remains one of the lowest in the country outside London.”

Cllr Werner said it has long been the Lib Dems’ ambition to set up a Windsor Town Council and the council will be starting a governance review process for its two non-parished areas.

As part of the plans, the Government is looking to create new mayoral strategic authorities where they do not already exist.

Cllr Werner said he is ‘not at all a fan’ of this form of Government, ‘putting all the power into the hands of one person, rather than taking a more partnership approach to decision-making.”

He and RBWM chief executive Stephen Evans have been engaging in discussions with other local authorities on the issue.

“I’ve been talking across Berkshire and Oxfordshire,” Cllr Werner said.

“Some council leaders in Berkshire and Oxfordshire want Swindon to be a part of that, but personally I don’t really see Swindon as part of that structure.”

Cllr Richard Coe (Lib Dem, Riverside) said he is ‘strongly opposed’ to the form of regional government being proposed, but he does support the ‘prudent work being done to anticipate what the government is going to impose on us’.

Cabinet members agreed the paper which recommends RBWM work ‘proactively’ with neighbouring authorities and other key figures to develop proposals for a new regional strategic authority.

It also recommended RBWM keep a ‘watching brief’ on developments.