Agenda and draft minutes

To provide a Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) progress update for the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire area and for Members to review and advise Cabinet on the draft consultation response to be submitted to government as a part of the statutory consultation on Local Government Reorganisation in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Members considered the draft consultation response to be submitted to Government as part of the statutory consultation on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough presented by Councillor Boden.

Members made comments as follows:

·       Councillor Tierney likened LGR to the Government passing a new set of legislation that says that in order to pay their bills they were going to take all your personal belongings from your house, which would be criticised and then they might say just to be fair there will be a vote on which room they would “steal” from. He continued that you could take a logical view and say if they “steal” from the hall that is better than letting them “steal” from the kitchen or front room but, in his view, nobody wants them to or believe it is right for them to “steal” anything from your house. He stated that this is where he is with LGR, he does not believe that any of these proposals are good for Fenland, thinks it is democratic vandalism of the worst sort, and it will harm everybody. Councillor Tierney made the point that the public are not too incensed by this as broadly they do not love councils and it is a convenient place to direct blame, but he feels 5 years down the line when the effects begin to set in people will look back on this and say maybe a mistake was made here or maybe they would not even realise, however, councillors will realise and he does not want in 5 years’ time for people to be able to look back on his vote and say well you voted for it. He stated that he is not going to vote for it and is going to vote against it.

·       Councillor Hay stated that like Councillor Tierney she does not agree with LGR, but members cannot bury their heads in the sand, it is going to happen whether members agree with it or not. She feels that it is very much damage limitation, picking the option that is going to have the least damage for the people of Fenland, and she believes Option D is that option.

·       Councillor J Clark expressed the view that he is sure that some people fear change and LGR may not even happen, but he understands the Council has to make the plans that it will happen. He agrees that it is disruptive to the workforce, with good people moving away from the Council, with some fear of losing their jobs and changing conditions, with councillors also losing their seats, power and allowances. Councillor Clark expressed the view that should LGR go ahead, he supports the two unitary system, making decision making more streamlined, efficient and it would be cheaper than three administration centres. He stated that he does not buy the argument that electors will get better representation with three unitaries, in his view, that is down to the quality of the councillor. Councillor Clark made the  ...  view the full minutes text for item C61/25