BOROUGH OF POOLE EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL 24 JANUARY 2017

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1 AGENDA ITEM 5 BOROUGH OF POOLE EXTRAORDINARY COUNCIL 24 JANUARY 2017 EXPLORING OPTIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN BOURNEMOUTH, POOLE AND DORSET: REPORT OF THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL AND CHAIRMAN OF CABINET 1. PURPOSE To consider the recommendations from Cabinet, at its Meeting on 10 January DECISIONS REQUIRED 2.1 That Cabinet recommends Council to consider the comments of the Business Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 5 January 2017 (detailed in the Chairman s Report enclosed with the Report to this Extraordinary Council). 2.2 That Cabinet recommends to Council: (i) (ii) That there has been a powerful public response acknowledging a compelling case to change local government structures in Dorset That a submission should be made to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government requesting that the existing nine county, district and unitary councils should be replaced by two new unitary councils. (iii) That based upon the weight of public opinion and the financial and other analytical evidence the two new unitary councils should be based upon the following local authority boundaries; Unitary A: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, plus the services currently provided by Dorset County Council in this area. Unitary B: East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland, plus the services currently provided by Dorset County Council in this area. (iv) That the Chief Executive be authorised, after consultation with the Leader, to agree the wording of the submission to the Secretary of State demonstrating our ambition for local government transformation 1

2 and drawing on the evidence that has been presented to councils, to be made along with any other council that has agreed to support the same option for reorganisation. (v) That the Chief Executive be authorised, after consultation with the Leader, to work with other councils that support the same option for reorganisation to develop and implement appropriate plans and allocate appropriate resources to progress local government change in Dorset and that a report on next steps be presented in due course. 3. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION 3.1 I invited the Chief Executive to introduce his Report to Cabinet. The Chief Executive explained that Cabinet was considering the recommendations contained in the Report to the Extraordinary Council, enclosed with the Agenda. He outlined the main points, as follows: This was a strategic response to the financial challenges that this and other Local Authorities currently face. This Proposal recognised the opportunities to achieve a way forward in the best interest of Poole and its ambitions. The information provided to Members was the product of a year s work in co-operation with the eight other Authorities in Dorset, and the cooperation and consensus far exceeded that of anywhere else in the country. There was a strong body of evidence before Members to recommend to Council, and three parts of the evidence had been commissioned jointly by the nine Local Authorities in Dorset, and had been prepared independently of all Dorset Councils. Each of the bodies of evidence had been prepared by nationally recognised, independent professional bodies with exemplary track records. The Financial Assessment had been produced by Local Partnerships (jointly owned by HM Treasury and the Local Government Association), a Case for Change had been prepared by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), and the comprehensive public consultation had been undertaken by Opinion Research Services (ORS). 3.2 The Chief Executive advised that the conclusion, from the body of evidence, that there was a strong financial case to reduce from nine Local Authorities to two in Dorset. 3.3 The consultation carried out by Opinion Research Services, using both quantitative and deliberate means, had produced clear support for moving to two Councils, with a clear preference for Option 2B, the forming of two new Unitary Councils, based upon the following Local Authority Boundaries: 2

3 Unitary A Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, plus the services currently provided by Dorset County Council in this area Unitary B East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland, plus the services currently provided by Dorset County Council in this area The Chief Executive advised Cabinet that he felt the case for change was very strong, and there was the opportunity now to make a significant change. 3.4 The Chief Executive advised Cabinet that all of the evidence prepared was to allow Councillors to exercise their judgement and make an evaluation in the light of the information before them. He recommended that Cabinet should support the Proposals detailed in the Report to the Extraordinary Council, to be considered at its Meeting on 24 January I then invited Councillor Brown to address the Meeting, as he had previously indicated his wish to speak on this matter. 3.6 Councillor Brown explained that he had attended the Business Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee last Thursday evening, and was pleased to see the attendance of a number of non-members of the Scrutiny Committee, including Cabinet Members. He sought clarification of the financial implications of the Proposals, explaining that he thought the savings to be made was 5.4 million from 2019, which he calculated to be 1.1 million per year revenue saving, which in the scale of current financial austerity, he did not feel was a great task. 3.7 Councillor Brown then explained that he was concerned that the Report before Cabinet, and that which was to be considered by Council, was a generic Dorset report, containing nothing of the specific implications for Poole of any reorganisation. He felt there were a number of gaps, and that without these it was very difficult to make a judgement on the case for change. He requested a lot more information on the non-financial aspects, including changes of boundaries, how any Democratic deficit would be met, retention of the Mayoralty, and how Planning Policy would be organised across a new Council. He thought the financial case could be judged but was concerned as to how a detailed judgement could be made without answers to these issues. He did not feel fully informed on the whole raft of issues to be able to make such a decision. 3.8 I then invited Councillor Gabriel, the Chairman of the Business Improvement Overview and Scrutiny Committee, to present the Report of the Meeting of this Committee to Cabinet. 3.9 Councillor Gabriel felt that the Committee had been split on political grounds and noted that a number of members were concerned about the risk of loss of local identity with his view being that this was not an issue as Poole, Bournemouth and Christchurch would always retain their own identity. 3

4 3.10 I then explained that Cabinet was still considering the Overview and Scrutiny Report, with the decision to be taken by the Extraordinary Council, being at a strategic level In response to questions about the consultation process, the Chief Executive advised that, in his opinion, the consultation process was very robust, it had been managed on behalf of the Local Authority by a nationally renowned company (ORS), very experienced in undertaking statutory consultation. The company had used a wide range of skills in undertaking the consultation and the Chief Executive had been advised that Mr Dale Hall, Chief Executive of ORS, had advised there was a 95 per cent level of confidence in the accuracy of the consultation results Cabinet colleagues made a number of comments as follows: Councillor Rampton stated that he had had found the Overview and Scrutiny Committee enlightening, and that the evidence before Cabinet produced a compelling case for change, with the consultation confirming there was clear support to reduce the nine Dorset Councils to two, with Option 2B being favourite, an option with which he agreed. He felt the consultation was robust. This process was not just about ambition, but about being able to deliver services in an effective way. This was an opportunity which the Council should work towards and he felt it was transformational Councillor Mellor felt that within the Chairman s Report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, there was a breadth of opinion, and he gave weight to the opinion of the public, who had stated that the quality of service and value for money was their priority. He stated that two thirds of those consulted were in favour of Option 2B Councillor Mrs Haines responded to Councillor Brown s comments, explaining that post 2019, the Council needed to save 5million. This was 1.1 million in Year 1, 1.1 million for Year 2 etc, a cumulative impact. Already in 2017/18, the Council was finding the financial position extremely challenging, and, as time progressed the Council would be spending 85 per cent of its budget on Social Care and Children, with all other services being squeezed if the issues were not addressed. These Proposals were not just about saving money, but about a transformation in how the Council delivered its services Councillor Iyengar addressed the issue of heritage, explaining that he did not feel the Proposals were synonymous with a loss of heritage. A larger conurbation would be able to exist with each Town s heritage protected, and he recognised the important of this Councillor Potter commented on the issues with regard to planning, he felt that the Greenbelt was not an issue for Local Government Review but for the Council s Local Plan. 4

5 4. CONCLUSION 4.1 I advised Cabinet that this was a strategic decision, and if Council made the decision to go ahead with the proposals, then there would be a great deal of work required, and all the details of Ward boundaries etc. would then be addressed. 4.2 I ask Council to make this strategic decision, having regard to the three Reports, (titles detailed below) previously circulated to all, and information available at Reshaping your Councils Consultation 2016 Prepared by ORS Case for Change Local Government Reorganisation Dorset prepared by PWC Dorset Councils Potential Options for the Reconfiguration of Local Authorities prepared by Local Partnerships. 4.3 I seek Council approval for the recommendations detailed in Section 2 of my Report, and in the Report before Council. Councillor Janet Walton Chairman of Cabinet and Leader of the Council 5