Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive (enclosed).

Councillor Mark Perks left the meeting for the debate and decision on the following Motion and Unitary Status Proposals Report.

Motion to Grant Dispensation

The Executive Leader referred to the motion which had been circulated seeking agreement to a dispensation to permit all councillors to take part in a discussion and decisions on issues relating to the development of proposals for Chorley Council gaining unitary status, including involvement in a dedicated Working Group.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader proposed, Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources seconded and it was RESOLVED-  That Chorley Council grants to all Councillors, a dispensation under section 33(2)(e) of the Localism Act 2011 to enable them to participate in Agenda Item 6, Developing a Proposal for Unitary Status and any subsequently convened working group connected to this matter.

The said dispensation to continue for a period of 12 months or until the subject of the Agenda Item is brought back to Full Council for further consideration.

Report on Developing a Proposal for Unitary Status

The Executive Leader presented a report on proposals for the development of a business case for Chorley Council becoming a single tier local authority and also circulated a letter from the Minister for Local Government on this matter.

The issue of unitary status was discussed at a recent meeting of the MP and Executive Leader of the Council with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The Secretary of State had indicated that the government would not block proposals that were financially robust and had a public mandate. 

In view of continuing change across the public sector and reductions in budget it was felt that an investigation into a move to unitary status would provide opportunities to review how local government could be delivered in the borough, working with other public sector bodies for more sustainable services into the future. The report provided the rationale for developing a business case for Chorley becoming a Unitary Council looking at:

·         Increasing strategic leadership and local accountability.

·         Scale, growth and comparable authorities.

·         Budget reductions and savings.

The proposal also included allocating funding to resource the exploratory work with a new dedicated post of Project Director on a fixed term contract; the establishment of an all-party working group of Elected Members to oversee the process; and consideration of a local poll being held in autumn 2015 to seek public opinion on a the proposal.

Member debated the matter and a number voiced concerns about population size and the viability of Chorley as a unitary authority. The Executive Leader stressed the opportunity would enable the Council to look at alternative ways of working with other partners to deliver services. Unitary status would only be recommended where there were clear organisational and financial reasons for doing so.

Councillor Alistair Bradley, Executive Leader proposed and Councillor Peter Wilson, Executive Member for Resources seconded and it was RESOLVED -

1.    That the Council supports the case to investigate the business case and viability of developing a single tier authority for the borough.

2.    That approval be given to the establishment of an all-party working group to oversee the development of a business case and to test the viability of proposals to establish a unitary authority for the borough, comprising nine Members of the Council.

3.    The membership of the Working Group be determined at the next Council meeting on 23 September 2014.

4.    That approval is given in principle to consider holding a local poll in Autumn 2015, subject to final approval of Council following recommendations from the all-party working group.

5.    That approval is given to incurring expenditure of up to £80,000 to fund the development of a business case, including the creation of a fixed-term cost of Project Director post, the funding to come from the organisational change reserve.

Councillor Perks returned to the meeting.

Councillor Phipps left the meeting