Town hall leaders call plan for local council mergers 'insane'

Plans to shake up the structure of English local government by merging councils are "ill thought out", "insane" and a "bizarre diversion" that will fail to deliver savings, according to town hall leaders.

- Patrick Butler

The depth of unhappiness with the plans is revealed in a poll of senior councillors and executives, most of whom said reforms will be costly, time-consuming and do little to address the council financial crisis.

Most local authorities are preparing to cut local services from April while increasing council tax, fees and charges, as they battle with cost pressures that could put up to 19 town halls into effective bankruptcy over the next year, the survey found.

The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), which carried out the survey, said the scale and speed of the reorganisation had added new uncertainty to a sector already in a "state of crisis management".

The government defended its plans, saying it was prepared to take "tough choices" to rebuild local government. It insisted it had consulted local leaders and its ambitious timetable was intended to provide certainty and increase resilience.