Note: this is a guest post by Paul Canning
Rich has mentioned the plans to re-organise Local Government a few times on this site and this is also something that I have an interest in. To the bemusement of those around me, I found myself ecstatically happy when I found out that the government plans to dispose of two-tier government in England. In three years time, district and borough councils will be no more. The most likely scenario will see them absorbed into the relevant county council that will then be split into a more manageable size where needed. If you were slightly bemused as to why this should matter one jot then I would conclude the following: you've never worked in Local Government.
Unlike Wales or Scotland, Local Government in many parts of England is still run in a way that was designed to work in the 1800’s and remains in place today. There are 34 County Councils, mostly in shire areas that control about 80% of 'Local Government functions'. Underneath these are networks of District Councils that deal with the remaining 20%. If you live in a really rural area, you may even have a Parish Council that have even less to do. In some areas, the number of these district councils is surprisingly high. In Kent, there are 13 District councils. In Surrey, there are 11 District Councils. Essex has 13, Hertfordshire 10.
For most people, "the council" is simply a body that collects the bins once a week and sends then an annual bill for a sizable sum of money. This amount has increased a lot in recent years and it's the government's fault (well, that's what the Daily Mail told me). A sizable slab of this is consumed in duplication and paperwork required to coordinate activities between such a large number of bodies. Did you know, for example, that at a bus stop the shelter is owned by the District Council and the County Council owns the bus stop pole? Your District Council is responsible for collecting your household waste ("the bins") whereas the County Council is responsible for disposing of it. These functions and many more besides require formal and sometimes complex legal agreements to make sure that each party does what they are supposed to without stepping on the toes of the other body. In an age of internet and email this really is a shockingly inefficient way of doing things. Imagine the beauracracy involved with co-ordination amongst, say, the 14 councils in Essex.
The people who represent you and me, the general public, are also hugely unrepresentative of the population at large. Councillors are mostly retired people or failing that stay-at-home mums. Even worse, sometimes they are both. Just 7% of councillors are under 40. This is because these are people with time on their hands. Most other people are too busy to bother with such things. They have jobs, for example. For some unknown reason, the further down the pecking order you go, the concentration of retired army officers also increases. It is certainly not uncommon for council workers (Officers) to find themselves addressing the Brigadier who has phoned up to complain about a crisp packet that has been dropped on the village green. There is nothing to stop a person being a councillor for more than 1 council. Your district, county and parish councillor can easily be the same person. In my opinion, these further erodes the point of having different tiers of government that are supposedly able to scrutinise each others’ decision. Semi-professional councillors, who perhaps work two days a week and have real jobs for the remaining time would not only draw a more representative collection of people to consider running for election but also produce people that have more of an idea how the real world actually works. I understand that this is under consideration, which is excellent news. The rules should also be changed to stop people from being members of more than 1 Local Authority. Otherwise, this endangers their mutual independence.
Some people see the two tier system as nostalgic, a throwback to times gone by. The truth is that the structure is no longer fit for purpose and a reorganisation could save the taxpayer a fortune — especially from removing so many pointless, duplicated jobs from middle management. So it looks like it really should be time for the Brigadier to retire — properly this time. Can I suggest taking up golf?
