CUMBRIA'S district councils have hit out at the county council over its stance on a proposed unitary authority.

A statement has been issued by Allerdale Council leader Alan Smith, the chairman of the Joint District Council Leaders group.

It follows the county council decision to support a proposal to approach the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to seek the Government’s views on the potential for local government reorganisation in Cumbria.

Cllr Smith said: “The district Leaders are disappointed that Cumbria County Council feels that central government should be asked to impose change on our people and communities. We believe that those of us locally elected to represent our citizens are best placed to offer a positive vision for the future of our area. We believe that our future governance should be decided inclusively, together, based on proper evidence and taking into account the special circumstances that makes each district such a unique place to live and work.”

He added: “Decisions like this need to be made on real evidence, not on the overly simplistic findings of a three year old consultant’s report. A County Council commissioned report, written in 2015, identified total spend across all Cumbrian authorities of £480m with a single Unitary Council making no savings for the first three years of its life and potential savings of up to £28m per year thereafter.

“The reality is that collectively across the county we have actually saved £53m in the last three years alone. Total spend by councils is now budgeted at £427m – that’s £53m lower every year with all seven councils planning to be even more efficient in the future.

"In the districts this has been done largely while protecting front line services such as waste management, street cleansing, leisure facilities, housing supply, public health and economic growth and by listening to residents about what is important to them. The County Council’s main assertions seem to be that the future sustainability of service provision across the whole county will be met by reducing the number of councillors and senior district officers. We believe that to base the whole case for a Unitary Cumbria on this assumption takes no account of the significant complexities of delivering services to an area as geographically and economically diverse as ours. The impact on council tax has also not been properly considered with some areas paying more for potentially less services.

"As district leaders we want to forge a positive future for Cumbria. We want to work with the county council and other partners in the public and private sector to modernise and transform the way we work and provide a sustainable, affordable model for public services for generations to come.

"We do not believe that the Government should or needs to intervene in a top down, imposed re-organisation, but that we, collaboratively, need to keep the dialogue going to find the right solution. Devolved government, combined authorities, shared services, unitaries, mayors and economic partnerships such as the Borderlands deal are all part of the mix and we owe it to the people of our collective and individual localities to continue working on ALL these options to find the right solution. This has to be a debate about how we create a prosperous and healthy Cumbria, building on our incredible place to shape a successful future in the short and long term. The approach the districts want to take is inclusive, utilising the skills and expertise of all key stakeholders and partners in business, the universities and communities.

Ultimately, there is more than one single community that makes up this county, but we must do our utmost to ensure that all our peoples’ needs are met irrespective of their age, their personal circumstances or where they live. As District Councils we are acutely aware of the pressures on social care, children’s services and many other budgets within the county and we want to play our part in ensuring the best possible service to our residents, whoever is responsible for their delivery. The future lies in our hands not in the offices of the Secretary of State in Westminster. The Secretary of State for Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has recently clearly stated that he will not support such proposals unless there was unanimous support and warned councils not to sleep walk into re-organisation as a short term solution to cutting costs.

"We hope that the County Council will work with us to forge the future our communities deserve."