New Norfolk councils branded a 'cut and shut job' overseen by 'dishonest' government |
Lord Fuller, the former leader of South Norfolk Council, warned the House of Lords the Labour government's decision - to create a Greater Norwich City Council, an East Norfolk Council and a West Norfolk Council - might not withstand a legal challenge.
Lord Fuller (Image: Roger Harris)
He said there were similarities between the government's latest decision-making and more than 15 years ago, when Norwich was granted unitary status by the then Labour government.
Norfolk's current eight councils will be replaced by three new ones (Image: Future Norfolk)
In 2010, that change was quashed by High Court judges who said communities secretary John Denham had acted in an "unfair and unlawful manner" because of a change in approach during the process.
Lord Fuller, who was Conservative leader at South Norfolk for 17 years before becoming a life peer, told the Lords the government had repeated that mistake this time around.
A map showing the boundaries for the new Greater Norwich City Council (Image: Future Norfolk)
He said councils were told to propose new councils with populations of at least half a million. The three new Norfolk authorities are all below that number.
Lord Fuller accused the government of "acting dishonestly in its dealings" and in a reference to the lead character in the 1980s ITV show Minder, told the Lords it was "a cut and shut job that would shame Arthur Daley."
Arthur Daley from Minder, played by George Cole (Image: Neil Munns / Press Association)
A cut and shut job is the dubious practice of combining two cars which have been involved in an accident to sell them as a 'new' vehicle.
Lord Fuller said: "The consequences of all that are only just becoming clearer - breaking long-term contracts for refuse collection, orphaning leisure centres and disrupting the local plan.
"There are unknowable permutations around allocating staff, who will need to think which of the 14 functional parts of our county, each of which delivers 136 council activities.
"They will need to stitch together contractually, financially and legally, and in terms of software and staffing, in just a few months without even being clear about the parishing in the former county boroughs. It is designed to fail."
The three new councils would provide all services across the areas they cover, unlike the current two-tier system where County Hall provides some services and the district, borough and city councils other ones.
The area the new East Norfolk Council would cover (Image: Future Norfolk)
But Lord Fuller said in the case of an east Norfolk, it would create “Britain’s poorest council”, because its low tax base would prevent it generating money.
He said council officials were now floundering to figure out how to provide services under the new model - with uncertainty over how they will be paid for.
He said: "We were told that only proposals that could demonstrate value for money would be entertained.
"But there has been no published cost analysis. Nobody knows what council tax might be in the new arrangements.
"Nobody has a clue about council tax harmonisation or debt apportionment or the pension fund strain costs.
"The government have acted dishonestly in their dealing on this. They have said one thing and done another.
"They have abused their position and spoken with forked tongue."
Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Image: Roger Harris / UK Parliament)
But Baroness Taylor of Stevenage, Labour's spokeswoman for local government in the House of Lords, defended the government's approach.
She said: "I am not going to go into all the details of the Norfolk process but it was extremely rigorous.
"Locally submitted proposals were considered very carefully against the clear criteria that had been set.
"We have always said that the 500,000 population limit was a guideline, not a hard line that had to be met.
"When we looked at the proposals, it was clear that we needed to be flexible on that in some areas. We made our decisions against the criteria."
The area the new West Norfolk Council would cover (Image: Future Norfolk)
Peers nodded through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill - needed to enact the changes - with a number of amendments, on Wednesday (April 15).
The amendments will now be voted on by MPs, who can accept or reject them – with the proposed changes coming back for Lords to vote on.
But the process could yet be challenged in the High Court. Essex County Council is mulling over a move, as is South Norfolk Council.
Daniel Elmer, South Norfolk Council leader, which had put forward a bid for two councils, previously confirmed his authority was talking to lawyers about the prospect of challenging the decision in the courts via a judicial review.
South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer (Image: South Norfolk Council)
He said: "We are absolutely still exploring options. But I think the government's timing of this is pretty despicable, in that their decision came right before the elections, which has hindered local authority's ability to respond.
"There's a three month deadline to apply for a judicial review and a month of that coincides with the elections."
it is understood the government's timetable - which will see elections to 'shadow' unitary councils in May next year before they formally replace the current eight councils in 2028 - has factored in the possibility of legal challenges.