First published by: The Guardian
Trade unions warn local authorities not to break trust put in them by communities
Labour councillors in Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea
and Hammersmith & Fulham are all in favour of any genuine efficiencies. But
we believe major long-term changes should not be driven by one party's
political agenda. The planned merger would result in services being provided
to a population equivalent to the size of Glasgow. Large councils are not necessarily more efficient – there
have been many high profile failures when councils have merged services before.
We believe that there must be cross-party involvement and wide public support
for these proposals before they are carried out. Sadly, the Conservatives in all
three boroughs have been highly secretive. Indeed, they would not allow their
officials to consult any opposition councillors in the three local authorities
prior to the announcement and have failed to provide any detailed information
since. We also have the following concerns:
The Conservatives are not ruling out using this merger as a
mechanism for even more frontline service cuts, stealth taxes and loss of jobs,
or as an excuse to undermine local democracy or sell off more community
buildings. Nor have they explained how local residents will keep their ability
to hold their council to account. They have not explained how any newly elected
administration would be able to secede from any part of this if political
control changes. They have also failed to explain why these particular local
authorities should merge services.
Already, there appear to be different messages coming from
the three Conservative authorities. This confusion does not bode well for the
project's success. We call on the Conservatives to take a more open, inclusive
and transparent approach to the plans. Cllr Judith Blakeman, Leader
of the opposition, Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Cllr Stephen
Cowan Leader of the opposition, London borough of Hammersmith and
Fulham, Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg Leader of the opposition, City of
Westminster
• As the first chief executive to take responsibility for
managing two local authorities, I am writing to express disappointment at your
coverage of the proposed arrangement between three London boroughs. The
London-centric vision gave little credit to the dozen or more such partnerships
that now exist. These have delivered millions of pounds of savings and service
improvements and found many lessons for others contemplating this path.
The key to success is the nature of the arrangements that
control the joint business. If constructed well, to give the politicians of
each partner a real say, this can allow local standards of services to exist
alongside the efficiency of a single officer structure and shared
services. The thorny issue of what happens if the politics change is
answered by the simple truth that once an arrangement is in place, any change
requested by any of the partners would need to justify the cost and disruption
of creating a parallel structure. In the current climate, local taxpayers are
hardly likely to be positive about this. In our Adur/Worthing partnership we
have always recognised that each new joint arrangement is probably a one-way
door.
Ian Lowrie
Chief executive, Adur district council/Worthing borough
council
• There have been many times during my years as a
headteacher that I have been left bewildered by government policy; however this
week's announcement truly surpassed all others. Every school-age child in the country has benefited hugely
from their local School Sports Partnership in creating collaborative
working between schools, community coaches and specialist providers based
on the Olympic values.
They have increased engagement with sport for pupils and
staff and provided a wealth of opportunities. In my own school,
involvement in the School Sports Partnership has had a direct impact on raising
standards annually, has enabled us to develop an increasingly creative
curriculum and to ensure that all pupils, parents and staff appreciate the
value of committing to a healthier lifestyle as well as instilling the values
of excellence, inspiration, courage, determination, respect, friendship and
equality.
However, the coalition government will cease all direct
funding for PE and school sport from 31 August 2011, less than one year before
the Olympics. The legacy that these games should have will now be in doubt as
the funding ends and the systems that have become very well established are
left to fragment.
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