SUPER COUNCIL MERGER QUESTIONED - Fears for future of public services if three Tory councils join forces

Published: 29 October 2010
by JAMIE WELHAM

RADICAL plans to create the country’s first “super council” by uniting Westminster with two other Tory boroughs will devastate public services, critics have warned.

Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea want to share services to generate massive savings of between £50million and £100million a year.

A joint statement from the local authorities’ leaders said core democratic services would be protected but “we will not rule out anything”.

Labour politicians believe the merger will give carte blanche to officials to axe jobs and close libraries, leisure centres, schools and housing offices in the name of savings.

They say the proposal will create a “Tory dictatorship”, branding it “unconstitutional”, “underhand” and a “complete joke”.

Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith, said: “For me this is about making it easier to make cuts and moving people further away from the people who make the decisions. To say this is about localism is not only a contradiction, it is a complete joke. It is unconstitutional and undemocratic and there is clearly a underhand political motive. I find it staggering that neither myself nor Karen (Buck MP) nor any of the Labour councillors in any borough were consulted about this. Hammersmith & Fulham is very different to the others. It is not a central London borough. “

Ms Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North, said: “We’ve got nothing against making backroom savings and looking at economies of scale, but this goes way beyond that. 

“At the moment we’re being kept in the dark, but what is most striking is the lack of consideration for the political consequences of such a thing. Having a single management structure for three boroughs of vastly different complexions is a massive risk.”

Stretching from Acton in the west to Putney in the south and across to Holborn, the size of the new authority would be bigger than Glasgow or Leeds, according to plans.

Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster have overwhelming Conservative majorities. Hammersmith & Fulham has traditionally been Labour controlled until a Conservative takeover in 2006.

Each council will keep its own leaders and ward councillors but at this stage the precise details of how the merger will work are not available other than the potential savings that will be made from cutting duplicate posts and driving down needless costs. It follows an agreement earlier this year between Hammersmith & Fulham and Westminster to share their education department. Concrete plans are set to be re-leased in February 2011.

Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg, leader of the Labour Group in Westminster, called it the “biggest attack on local services”, adding: “These plans will reduce local services and centralise decision-making in the hands of three Conservative council leaders and a few unaccountable town hall officials.”

“This is part of a plan by ideologically-driven Conservatives to cut services regardless of the personal cost to those who depend on public services – children, the vulnerable, the elderly and those on low incomes. At a stroke, local services in each borough that have taken years to build up will be slashed and destroyed for all time.”

Union leaders said they were shocked they were not told about the plans. 

Unison regional organiser Laura Butterfield, who represents more than 7,000 workers across the three authorities, said: “What is most worrying is that there has been absolutely no discussion with the trade unions who represent the employees or the representatives of those who the councils provide the services to. 

“While services will be hit and while employees will join the dole queues the councillors will continue to be able to claim their expenses. Their jobs aren’t at risk! Where’s the democracy in that?”

Last week the leaders of three councils released a joint statement outlining the plans.

It said: “Ensuring we can provide a high standard of local services in today’s tough economic climate means thinking differently about how we operate, concentrating on what’s important to the people we serve and ensuring we continue to care for the most vulnerable in our communities. Our residents would expect nothing less. 

“That is why this week we have met and agreed to progress to plans to share every council service between our three councils. This may include merging services to reduce duplication and drive out needless cost. 

“While we won’t rule anything out at this stage, we expect to focus quite quickly on a few major areas where sharing and merging services is viable and good for the public. There are a number of areas, such as core democratic services where we are unlikely to merge provision. In the coming weeks we will set up a series of working groups to develop and study options for three main areas: environmental services, family services and corporate services. Our plans may be the first of their kind, but sharing of services in this way can no longer be viewed as a radical concept. It will soon become the norm for local authorities looking for innovative ways to keep costs down while delivering high quality frontline services.”