# Town hall leaders condemn ‘ill-thought-out’ plan to merge English councils

## Survey reveals senior officials think changes will do little to address local authorities’ dire financial crisis

Ministers’ plans to shake up the structure of English local government by merging councils are “ill-thought-out”, “insane”, and a “bizarre diversion” that will fail to deliver savings, according to a survey of town hall leaders.

The depth of unhappiness with the plans is revealed in an annual poll of senior councillors and executives, most of whom said the changes would be costly, time-consuming, and do little to address the dire financial crisis facing councils.

Most local authorities are preparing to cut local services from April while increasing council tax, fees, and charges, as they battle with cost pressures that could put up to 19 town halls into  over the next year, the survey found.

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), which carried out the survey, said the scale and speed of the proposed reorganization had added a “new layer of uncertainty” to a sector already in a “state of crisis management”.

The government defended its plans on Wednesday night, saying it was prepared to take “tough choices” to rebuild the local government sector. It insisted it had thoroughly consulted local leaders and its ambitious timetable was intended to provide certainty for councils and increase their resilience.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Reorganisation is a tough choice but it is the right one to end the two-tier premium and create streamlined, more accountable local government.

“We know the challenges councils are facing, which is why despite the inheritance we have been left we are making available £69bn of funding to councils across  and working with them to drive forward the government’s plan for change.”

The government’s , published in December, include abolishing the current two-tier system and creating a smaller number of unitary authorities covering large geographical areas. Critics have called these “”.

Ministers have  that effectively abolishing scores of smaller district councils would help drive economic growth, deliver significant financial efficiencies, and improve accountability, despite cutting the number of elected local politicians.

The LGIU said its survey showed the vast majority of local government leaders were not onboard with the government’s plans. Many were unhappy with the costs of the changes – put at £16m per area, according to one estimate – and the amount of time and resources it was taking up.

One unnamed senior district council leader told the survey: “Reorganizing local government to save money is insane.  has already had a 40% real-terms cut since 2010. Reorganise to deliver more local outcomes, sure, but not to save money.”

An unnamed county council treasurer said: “Local government reorganization will be a distraction from needing to balance the books for all councils … It is making everything much more uncertain and challenging.”

A deputy mayor of a unitary council described the changes as “rushed, ill-thought-out and potentially undeliverable”, while other respondents called them a “bizarre distraction” and “the last thing we need at the worst possible time”.



Sign up to First Edition

Free daily newsletter

Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters

Enter your email address



**Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google  and  apply.

Sign up to First Edition

Free daily newsletter

Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it matters

Enter your email address



## Related: Mergers of English councils could lead to tax rises due to high debt levels

Mergers of English councils could lead to tax rises due to high debt levels.



## Explore more on these topics

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
```