Cambridgeshire Council Shake Up New Authority Impact on Residents

The government faces criticism for council changes. People think they should fix social care first. Leaders worry about a new county-wide council plan. They think services could become harder to reach.

The government asked them for reorganization ideas. The deadline for an initial plan is March 21. Cambridgeshire uses a two-level council system now. The county handles roads, social care, and education, whereas districts handle bins, planning, and licenses. Peterborough already has one council for everything.

The government wants a proposal for the area. This could mean one or more new councils. They say it is a chance to make things simpler and expect a full proposal by November 28.

A council leader, Bridget Smith, disagrees with the plan. She thinks social care needs more attention and worries councils will become too large.

Smith says councils must follow the government’s plan and that they are trying to find the best solution. She doesn’t know what the plan will look like but thinks the government expects unrealistic savings. She thinks local government could become less local; fewer councillors could cover larger areas.

Smith says councillors are community champions. She fears fewer councillors will hurt communities and that high workloads could affect councillor diversity. She thinks councils could be full of wealthy, older people.

Another leader, Anna Bailey, shares Smith’s concerns. Bailey worries about the effect on democracy. She says the role could become professional, and fewer councillors will cover more services. This could mean fewer diverse people become councillors.

Bailey thinks a single council is simpler. A new council size is a big issue for her, as the government wants councils with at least 500,000 people, although exceptions might be allowed. Her district has less than 90,000 people.

Bailey fears services will become distant and is worried about democracy. People might pay for other councils’ debts, and she fears good policies may disappear. She prefers making districts into unitary councils, which could manage roads better. Large services could go to a regional authority, but this has no chance, she believes; she thinks the government wants regional “puppets.”