Taxpayers ‘should not pay’ for scrapped council shake-up, motion says
Portsmouth councillors will consider demands for government compensation over abandoned reorganisation plans
Portsmouth Conservatives will urge councillors to ask the government to “pick up the bill” after it withdrew plans for a council shake-up.
A full meeting of Portsmouth City Council next week will debate a motion put forward by councillors Simon Bosher and Spencer Gardner.
The motion criticises the Government for withdrawing from its local government reorganisation (LGR) plans.
LGR initially aimed to replace the two-tier system, in which county and district councils share responsibilities, with larger unitary authorities providing all services to around 500,000 people.
Under the proposals, Portsmouth City Council would have been merged with authorities in Gosport, Fareham and Havant.
The plans sparked local opposition, with the council launching a judicial review challenging the government’s decision-making.
However, on September 7, the Government announced it would review the plans.
The motion argues councils have spent “significant amounts of money” preparing for LGR, “working to deadlines and requirements set by government”.
It states that “local residents should not be left to pick up the bill for a process which the government has now chosen to pause”.
It adds: “At a time when council finances are already under enormous pressure, every pound unnecessarily spent on LGR is a pound which cannot be spent on the services our residents rely on.”
The motion asks the council’s chief executive and section 151 officer to “establish the full cost” of LGR to date ahead of the full council meeting in December.
If passed, the motion would see the council leader write to the government and local MPs, stating that local taxpayers “should not be expected to pay for the government’s LGR U-turn”.
The letter would call on the government to “reimburse this council for all costs incurred” and to “provide clear answers about the future of LGR before councils are expected to spend any more taxpayers’ money on the process”.
Angela Rayner, the secretary of state, said the review of LGR was undertaken “in light of legal advice”.
She said she wanted to “satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law”, and that LGR met the “priorities of a new administration and the new Prime Minister and any additional considerations”.
Councillors will meet on October 13 to discuss the motion.