In a letter to Norfolk County Council and the District/Borough Councils, the Secretary of State's intended decision making process has been set out to assist those who may wish to make representations on the plans.
Last year, following decisions not to implement original proposals for unitary local government for Norwich at that time, the Secretary of State asked the Boundary Committee to provide advice on whether there could be alternative unitary proposals for the whole county. The deadline for that advice is 15 July.
From 15 July to 18 September 2009 there will be an opportunity for anyone to submit representations to the Secretary of State on any of the unitary proposals put forward for the counties, including those original proposals submitted by Norwich City Council. This will be an important opportunity for your council to put their view on the future of Local Government.
The Secretary of State then intends to take his statutory decisions by mid October 2009.
Should a decision be taken to implement any proposals for unitary local government, the Secretary of State intends to lay the necessary Parliamentary Orders around the end of the year. This would mean that any new unitary council, if approved by Parliament, could be established by 1 April 2011.
The full letter from the Secretary of State is available here.
UPDATE: 19 March 2009 - Boundary Committee publishes options for unitary arrangements in Norfolk
- A single unitary authority for Norfolk
- A two unitary pattern featuring one authority for Norwich (on expanded city boundaries) and one for the rest of Norfolk.
There is now a further period, until 14 May, when people can make representation to the Boundary Committee. The Committee will then consider responses before providing any advice to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by 15 July.
The Boundary Committee statement can be viewed at:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/news-and-media/news-releases/boundary-committee-news-centre/structural-reviews/boundary-committee-publishes-further-draft-proposals-for-norfolk
and states:
The Boundary Committee for England has published further draft proposals for new unitary local government arrangements in Norfolk and is asking for people in the county to give their views on the proposals. This follows the Committee's earlier consultation which took place between July and September 2008.
The Committee has published two further draft proposals: a single unitary council for the whole of the current Norfolk County Council area; and a two-unitary pattern featuring one authority for Norwich (on expanded city boundaries) and one for the rest of Norfolk. The proposals also set out key features of the way in which neighbourhood empowerment structures might work in a future unitary structure.
The boundaries of the proposed Norwich authority are the same as those published in July 2008's 'draft proposal' report, although after consideration of evidence received in consultation undertaken in 2008, the Committee does not consider that Lowestoft should be included in the further draft proposals for Norfolk, so no change is proposed to the current external boundaries of the county.
The new consultation is as a result of the Committee adapting its process as a result of High Court judgments that allowed it to publish more than one proposal for consultation.
Max Caller, Chair of the Boundary Committee for England, said:" We want people to look carefully at what we're proposing and then tell us what they think and why. Any evidence we receive from this stage will add to that which we obtained in our consultation last year.
"You might want to tells us, among other things, which proposal you prefer, how one or both could be made better, or how you feel the community empowerment arrangements could work for your village or town.
"We are not at this stage expressing a preference for one pattern over another but, on the basis of the evidence received so far, we think both sets of proposals may have the capacity to meet all five criteria that the Secretary of State has given us and deliver the very best for local people."
Responses to our further draft proposals can be made by filling in an online form at www.boundarycommittee.org.uk or writing to:
Review Manager(Norfolk Review)
The Boundary Committee for England
Trevelyan House
Great Peter Street
London SW1P 2HW
Email: reviews@boundarycommittee.org.uk
The period for responses closes on 14 May 2009. The Committee will then consider responses before providing any advice to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government by 15 July.
The Boundary Committee has also published the latest report of the independent financial consultants who have scrutinised the options for their affordability, including risk and value for money.
You can see the documents for yourself by following this link to the Boundary Committee’s website:
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/boundary-reviews/all-reviews/eastern/norfolk/norfolk-structural-review
Your Council’s Unitary Meeting – Points to consider
The Boundary Review Committee are keen to receive submissions from individual Parish Councils.
These must be evidence based. This is more than “we would like this to be the case”.
It is clear that the majority of our members feel the process was forced upon the county and are strongly in favour of the status quo. There is a time to argue this. For now it is important that first tier councils meet and decide what role they would ideally play in a new local government structure.
