Councils have work to do on shake-up of local government

THE work by Devon's councils on kickstarting the biggest local government shake-up in 50 years is 'clear to see,' the ministry in charge of the overhaul says.

- by BRADLEY GERRARD Local Democracy Reporter [e-mail]

Bosses of Devon's 11 councils have received a letter from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government about their response to Westminster's request for the county to completely revamp how it is governed.

The 15-page letter, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, recognised the efforts by each of the councils, but its repeated requests for "further information" suggest significant amounts of work will be needed by November's deadline for final plans.

The letter provided amalgamated feedback on a range of interim plans, including those submitted by individual councils such as Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay, and one by seven of Devon's eight districts.

The Government wants to scrap the two-tier system that exists in 21 areas of England, including Devon, whereby county councils perform some services and district councils others.