One authority for Somerset could save £28m a year

David Fothergill, the leader of Somerset County Council, has launched an enquiry into changing the way local government is organised in Somerset, including the possibility of scrapping all six local authorities in the county.

Facing unprecedented financial pressures, the county council is to investigate how a unitary arrangement could work in the county, analysing the benefits and possible problems of replacing the current six local authorities in the region with a smaller number of single-tier authorities, or potentially just one authority.

It has been reported that pooling responsibilities and restructuring could save between £18 million and £28 million a year across the county. Mooted ideas include moving from five chief executives to one, saving £500,000 a year, or saving £1 million per year by reducing the number of councillors covering the county by around 50 per cent from the current 300. Other savings would likely be found in IT system contracts, as well as utility and transport costs.

Fothergill said: “At a time of unprecedented financial pressures on all councils we are all looking at different ways to be more efficient, make savings and protect the frontline services that our residents value so much.

“I believe that we owe it to our residents to look at this option too. I want start the ball rolling on work to establish the benefits and costs of such a change so that we can all make an informed decision as to whether a unitary model is the right way to go. This is only the start of a conversation and what would be a long process. At this stage we don’t have all the answers, but I believe that in these difficult times we have to be bold enough to start asking the questions.”