Major Local Government Overhaul Announced Soon

The shape of the biggest shake-up in local government in 50 years should be announced this week.

Council leaders, including those in West Berkshire, are waiting for the secretary of state, Steve Reed, who may make the announcement on Wednesday or Thursday.

It would force county, borough and district councils to abolish themselves and be reshaped into a smaller number of much larger unitary authorities.

The Government says unitaries are cheaper to run, give greater autonomy to local communities and make the sector more streamlined. While many current staff may be needed, far fewer top-salaried officers and chief executives will be required.

West Berkshire Council, which serves roughly 170,000 residents, falls below the Government's 500,000-population threshold, so faces a major structural merger.

Under current proposals to form a new larger unitary (such as the proposed 'Ridgeway Council' alongside South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse), senior staff face three main outcomes. Merging executive teams will lead to deleted posts and redundancy risks, the council has already prepared redundancy plans, and at-risk staff will be prioritised for suitable alternative employment with salary protection for 18 months if moved to lower-graded roles.

Many senior staff will transfer to the new authority to keep services running during the shadow authority setup.

It will not be known whether there will be one, two or three unitary authorities for Oxfordshire until the Government's 'minded-to' decision, which is expected before the Parliamentary summer recess starting on July 16.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter