Minister rejects unitary local government bid for Somerset

A LIBERAL Democrat bid to abolish West Somerset Council and seize control of all local government services throughout Somerset has been thrown out by the Government.
The emphatic rejection of Somerset County Council’s plans for a single unitary authority in the county follows a county-wide referendum which saw 82 per cent of respondents vote against the idea.
The Department for Communities and Local Government had set five criterion which it said any unitary bid would need to meet in order to be successful, one of which was that there should be a broad cross section of support for the proposal.
Another criterion was to be affordable – but an independent assessment of the plan showed it would have cost ratepayers £7 million rather than saving them money as claimed by the Lib Dems.
The unitary bid was opposed in a joint campaign by all five of Somerset’s district councils and all five MPs who represent the county in Parliament.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Keith Ross, warmly welcomed the Government decision.
Councillor Ross said: “I am pleased that the voices of local people have been heard, and their wishes respected.
“I appreciate that the Government wants us to improve the current two-tier system and look forward to working with our partners in the district councils and at the county council to achieve this.”
In the recent referendum on unitary status, 200,000 people voted, almost half of the county’s population and more than took part in local government elections in May. Just18 per cent of those who voted were in favour.
West Somerset and the other district councils argued the county authority’s proposals would involve the creation of a mammoth council, a giant new bureaucracy, more red tape, and the abolition of local councils, leading to less democracy and more remote councillors.
Lib Dem county councillors ignored the county-wide referendum and tried to defy the result right up to the end by refusing to withdraw their unitary bid.
The present leader of the county council, Councillor Jill Shortland, who recently took on the role after Councillor Cathy Bakewell stepped down just months after she had launched the bid, said: “The news that our bid to create one council for Somerset is not being taken forward by the DCLG is very disappointing.
“However, the business of providing excellent services to residents will continue with full pace.
“I truly hope that we can re-engage with our district council partners to look for new ways of working closer together through local area working, where many opportunities exist to empower Somerset’s communities.”

Lib Dem council power bid 'to be dropped by public demand'

WEST Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, has expressed her confidence that Liberal Democrat plans to create a super-size council to run all local government services in the county would soon be dropped.
It follows a decision by the Department for Communities and Local Government to put the plans by Somerset County Council leader Councillor Cathy Bakewell out to consultation during the next three months to test how popular they were.
A recent public opinion poll conducted in Somerset by the national YouGov polling organisation showed opposition to the Lib Dem-run county council’s take-over bid at more than three-to-one against, with opposition particularly strong among women and older people.
Councillor Lawrence said: “It is not surprising that the Government decided to consult with the people about the county council’s plans, indeed I welcome consultation provided it is fair, impartial, and involves all sections of the community.
“The Government has made it clear that a mammoth, unitary authority can only proceed if it has popular support.
“Plainly, these proposals do not have public support.
“In addition to the opinion poll conducted by YouGov there have been no fewer than nine surveys of public opinion, including several run by local newspapers and a number involving parish councillors.
“Not one of them has indicated support for the county council’s plans.
“I am confident the Government will realise the county council’s plans for a vast bureaucracy centred on Taunton are not appropriate for West Somerset.”
All five district councils in Somerset would be abolished by the Lib Dems if the plan for a unitary authority was to go ahead.
An independent assessment of the plan has shown it would cost council taxpayers about £7 million, rather than saving money as claimed by Councillor Bakewell and her Lib Dems.
In April, the five district councils will begin a county-wide programme of events to ensure the public voice is properly heard during the consultation period and will begin the process of enhancing two-tier working to ensure the districts and the county authority work together effectively once the unitary scheme has been dropped.
Among parish councils in West Somerset opposed to the county unitary bid is Bicknoller, which is writing to the Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly to express its feelings and to show support instead for an enhanced two-tier option in which West Somerset would work more closely with neighbouring Taunton Deane and Sedgemoor districts.

Lib Dem county council told to consult on power bid

A LIBERAL Democrat bid to abolish West Somerset Council has passed its first hurdle with the Government putting the plan forward for public consultation.
The scheme by Somerset County Council leader Councillor Cathy Bakewell would see all five districts in the county axed and all local government services taken on by her council.
Although the Government wants to look at plans for unitary councils which would save money, Councillor Bakewell’s ambitions have been independently calculated to cost ratepayers £7 million.
The county council has so far refused to consult the public on its plans, but now the Government has said it has to undergo 12 weeks of consultation.
The Government will then take a final decision in July on whether to allow Somerset to be ruled by one super-size council, which would be formed by April, 2009.
Somerset was one of 16 areas shortlisted by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for consideration for unitary local government.
West Somerset Council leader Councillor Christine Lawrence has campaigned against the unitary bid, although she is also a county councillor for the Dunster ward.
Councillor Bakewell said: “We will be working closely with DCLG in the forthcoming months to ensure that Somerset is one of the authorities selected for unitary status in July.
“We are confident that the wind is blowing in Government in favour of unitary status for Somerset and I hope that our colleagues in district councils will now work with us to play an equal part in helping to shape a system of government fit for the people that we all serve.”

Lib Dem power grab bid 'shockingly unpopular'

PLANS by Somerset County Council leader, Councillor Cathy Bakewell (pictured), to abolish West Somerset Council and for all local government services to be taken over by her Liberal Democrat group have been given a massive vote of no confidence by the public.
Across Somerset, people opposed Councillor Bakewell’s plans for a new super-size council by more than three-to-one, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the YouGov polling company.
The survey showed that for every person who thought the scheme wouldl lead to lower Council Tax bills, a staggering 10 people believed it would actually lead to higher council taxes.
The result compares with one of Councillor Bakewell’s main arguments in favour of the super-size council, which she says would save money.
Key findings from the YouGov poll included:

• 67 per cent of respondents thought it was a bad idea to create a large, single unitary authority for the whole of Somerset
• 61 per cent thought local services (such as street cleaning, road maintenance and refuse collection) would be worse under the county council’s plans
• 63 per cent thought the county council’s plans would weaken democracy in Somerset
• 74 per cent thought council tax would go up if there was a unitary council

The poll findings dealt a serious blow to Councillor Bakewell’s power grab ambitions as the recent Government White Paper on local government reform said any proposals for change had to carry popular support.
Given the likelihood Councillor Bakewell’s proposals would lead to a migration of jobs away from smaller towns in Somerset towards the regional centre of Taunton, respondents were also asked if they thought the plans would be good or bad for the economy of Somerset outside of Taunton.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents 4thought the plans would be bad.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, who is opposed to the unitary bid, said: “This poll is the most comprehensive and independent test of public opinion that has been held in Somerset.
“It shows quite clearly that the county council’s plans are shockingly unpopular.
“You really would have to try quite hard to come up with proposals that were more unpopular than this.
“Against this background, I simply cannot see how the Government could allow the county council to proceed with these reorganisation plans.” Photo submitted.

Modern-day 'pitchfork rebellion' goes to Westminster to save West Somerset

WEST Somerset Council was among a delegation of councillors, trades unionists, and chief executives who lobbied MPs in London on Wednesday, March 14, as a campaign was stepped up to defeat Somerset County Council’s unitary authority plans.
Liberal Democrats at County Hall, Taunton, want to abolish local district councils in Somerset and take over all local government services in a move which would see their ‘salaries’ jump enormously to match the extra responsibilities.
But the political move by Lib Dem county council leader Councillor Cathy Bakewell, who already earns more than £40,000 a year from her role, has attracted strong criticism from people who fear planning decisions in, say Porlock, would be made by councillors in Frome.
Councillor Bakewell, who has so far failed even to secure the support of all of her Lib Dem members, would head one of the largest unitary authorities in England if the Government approved the reorganisation.
Local Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger and Euro MP Neil Parish are among those who oppose creating a super-size council.
Representatives from all five of Somerset’s district councils joined forces with members of the local government union UNISION for the delegation trip to Westminster.
They delivered a dossier of evidence against Councillor Bakewell’s proposals to Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.
The delegation was met by members of the Sealed Knot, light-heartedly invoking the spirit of the ‘Pitchfork Rebellion’ of 1685.
The rebellion, which was led by the Duke of Monmouth and supported by the county’s farmers and peasants, was, in some senses, the first battle for democratic rights in Somerset.
Councillor Bakewell’s proposals follow a decision by the Department for Communities and Local Government to explore the development of more unitary authorities around the country.
The government favours unitary authorities if they save money and have popular support.
In Somerset, however, Councillor Bakewell’s super-size council ambitions have been independently calculated to cost ratepayers £7 million.
West Somerset Council leader, Councillor Christine Lawrence, said: “The county’s plans are ill thought out and badly timed.
“A single unitary authority for Somerset would be bad for local democracy, bad for local services, and bad for the local economy.
“These plans really ought to be withdrawn immediately. Rural areas will not get the representation that they clearly want, need, and are used to.”
Nigel Osborne, from UNISON, said: “It is clear from the county council’s proposals that many jobs will be lost and many more will move from local towns into the regional centre at Taunton.
“My real fear is that a single, super-size council in Somerset would have no alternative but to cut council services as it fought to pay the huge costs of becoming a unitary authority.”
A Government announcement on which unitary proposals will be allowed to proceed to the next stage of the process is expected by the end of March.
Photos submitted.

Pledge to tackle global warming in Somerset

THE 'Nottingham Declaration', a voluntary pledge which commits to actively tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions, is being signed on behalf of Somerset County Council today, Wednesday, February 21.
The leader of the council, Councillor Cathy Bakewell, is syumbolically signing the document at a meeting of the full council, an act which she says puts Somerset at the forefront of efforts to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change in the county.
At the same time, the council is revealing predictions of the significant impacts of global warming and sea level rises in Somerset.
Applying data from climate and flooding experts, it is predicted that:

• The chances of a severe tidal flooding event, large enough to overwhelm current defences and threaten the M5 and railway links through Somerset, could increase from 200/1 in any given year to 17/1 by 2060
  
• The threat posed to 32,500 properties across 2,394 square miles of the county currently vulnerable to flooding from a combination of coastal and river events could rise markedly
  
• Average July temperatures will have risen by four degrees Celsius in Somerset by 2080 if emissions remain high, with more damaging extremes of temperature and prolonged drought
  
• By 2080, there could be a net sea level rise of 3.1 inches per year in the South West if emissions remain high

The authority is also announcing a stakeholder and public consultation for a ‘Climate Change Adaptation Strategy’ (SCCAS) which is now in preparation, and which sets targets for the council to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its service areas and encourage and help partners to do the same.
Together, they will form a countywide approach to protecting infrastructure and services from climate change and reducing emissions, co-ordinated by the council.
The authority already has a range of award-winning projects and initiatives to reduce emissions and promote renewable energy, including the Somerset biofuels project, a ‘Watts On’ energy efficiency campaign within County Hall, and biomass heating schemes.
There are more to come this year, including the landmark ‘Rising to the Challenge’ climate change communications project and the rolling out of the pioneering Somerset Wind Energy Initiative.
As well as supporting the Environment Agency in its prioritising of flood defence works, the council will develop a countywide response through a water management partnership.
This will involve all stakeholders, regional and national agencies in developing a co-ordinated approach to combat future rising flood risk challenge.
Councillor Bakewell said: “Global warming will seriously affect Somerset. Our announcements today put into place initiatives to tackle the causes and consequences of climate change in Somerset. We must lead the way and help others to follow.”

• Our illustration above shows areas of Somerset, highlighted in mauve, at risk of tidal flooding, which include Minehead, Dunster Marsh, and areas near Blue Anchor and Watchet. Image submitted.