Council merger process slammed a ‘titanic waste’ of taxpayers’ money

Proposals to merge councils have been slammed as a “titanic waste” of taxpayers’ money by a Hampshire MP.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative MP for Gosport, hit out at the government after communities secretary Angela Rayner announced she was withdrawing the decision to approve plans for local government reorganisation in the county.

The U-turn by Ms Rayner due to new legal advice comes less than six months after her predecessor Steve Reed signed off the proposals to create four large unitary authorities to run all council services.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Monday. September 7, Dame Caroline said she was confused about what the secretary of state’s announcement meant for the county.

Dame Caroline said: “When it comes to Hampshire, is this a pause or is this a cancellation?

“When will we know if this titanic waste of council taxpayers’ money is actually going to re-emerge?

“The government’s top-down reorganisation plans have cost councils across Hampshire so much time, so much money at a point where finances are already stretched to breaking point.

“Has she calculated the cost of this? Will local authorities be reimbursed for the time and money already spent and when are we going to know what’s in the plan?”

Ms Rayner told MPs the withdrawal of the approval decision based on new legal advice came at a time when the government was facing a judicial review from Hampshire County Council.

In response to Dame Caroline, the communities secretary said: “I said we would work at pace but I want to be able to review these decisions to ensure myself that the decisions are the right ones and respecting the court process.

“That means that the way to do this is to withdraw and to consider afresh.

“In terms of the issue around costs so far, I recognise that a lot of work has gone into the financial commitments that have been made and this work is not wasted and the government has committed to providing transitional funding.”

Havant Constituency MP Alan Mak also welcomed the news - dubbing the plans as a ‘waste of money’.

He said: “Labour’s plans to re-organise local government were a total waste of time and money when the government should be focusing on delivering better services, helping with the cost of living, cutting immigration and protecting our borders. I campaigned alongside local residents against the proposed changes and I’m glad Labour has finally u-turned.”

Speaking later, East Hampshire’s MP Damian Hinds welcomed the news - for now.

"I have consistently argued that the Government’s top-down reorganisation of local government would be a costly and bureaucratic exercise that nobody asked for - and nobody voted for. Worse still, it risked taking local services further away from the people they are there to serve, while increasing costs in key areas.

“So I’m pleased that the Government has finally hit the pause button on this disastrous scheme.

“It sounds very much like it was legal advice, rather than an actual change of heart, that has produced the pause. So whether this turns into a full u-turn, or simply a pause and reset, remains to be seen.

“For now, at least, East Hampshire stays together.

“But already there has been waste - in time, focus and money - as a result of pursuing an ill-thought-through scheme and then changing the spec part-way through.

“We shall see what ministers' next move will be. I will continue to make the case for keeping East Hampshire together.”

In a joint statement Portsmouth MPs Stephen Morgan and Amanda Martin said: “We welcome the Government’s decision to review the Local Government Reorganisation proposals for Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. This is an opportunity to get this right and crucially, protect Portsmouth’s strong local identity.

“We have worked tirelessly to make the case for Portsmouth meeting Ministers, raising our concerns directly, responding to the councils requests and lobbying for a process that properly reflects our city’s interests. We are pleased the Government has listened.”