- Current County Council leaders plan to move all decision making to Shire Hall
Local Government re-organisation is being forced on Warwickshire. The Government has mandated that all “two tier” councils, such as those in Warwickshire, are scrapped and new unitary authorities are created. For Warwickshire, this means in 2-3 years time we end up with just one, or possibly two, new councils. This will have a massive impact on services and jobs. Both models have problems and opportunities. Several councils such as Shropshire, Northamptonshire, Cornwall and Cumbria have already made this change, so we can see what went well and what services were gradually lost. For many of the most costly services, there is no saving to be made, as the expensive functions are already done by the County Council. The exception to this is the waste and recycling service, which is split between 5 District Councils, the County Council and Coventry City Council, where most of the waste recycling and incineration is based.
We are fighting to get the best outcome for Nuneaton: a Green amendment has ensured that any proposal for the borough will be fully discussed in Nuneaton Town Hall before submissions are made to Government. It is vital that we get a strong local voice back on Warwickshire County Council in the May elections. Currently, most Conservative County Councillors are pushing for everything to be controlled in Warwick with a single unitary, while some of their Borough Councillors oppose the change. The 1st May election really matters as the structure and location for local government is rearranged. The best case is that we get more local jobs and better services but the opposite is also very possible.
