Nine new unitaries announced

It appears the uncertainty has finally come to an end.

A total of 3.5 million people will see the end of two-tier governance in their area in the biggest shake-up of council boundaries since the mid-1990s.

When then local government minister David Miliband announced in LGC two years’ ago that he was contemplating redrawing council boundaries, most people immediately realised what he had unleashed.

Local relationships collapsed as districts and counties fought for survival. But restructuring enthusiasts insisted the efficiency gains resulting from reorganisation would make the saga worthwhile.

The battle has had many subplots. Districts such as Ipswich, Norwich and Oxford thought they were being offered an opportunity to break free from oppressive counties whose rural focus held back their economic development and local identity.

Counties such as Northumberland, Somerset and Cornwall felt they had a chance to provide more efficient local leadership – although their opponents said they were too big to truly represent local needs.

And then the Treasury got involved, making it clear that it would seek to restrict the number of councils allowed to proceed. The financial risk involved was making then chancellor Gordon Brown uneasy and the Department for Communities & Local Government was under pressure to scale back its original aspirations.

The final announcement constitutes a compromise between the views expressed by the county and district lobbies and the Treasury.

The hotchpotch of new boundaries ensuing marks no clear victory for the lobbies that backed either larger or smaller councils. While the figure of nine is slightly higher than the Treasury would have preferred, it certainly constitutes a less dramatic overhaul of boundaries than Mr Miliband envisaged.

One thing is certain. All councils, whether directly affected by today’s announcement or not, face continuing pressure to improve efficiency. Radical new working arrangements are required across the board – and the unitary council debate will not disappear in remaining two-tier areas. So perhaps the uncertainty has not entirely come to an end, after all.

LGA Conference - Sub-national review report could be imminent

At first listening, new local government minister John Healey’s take on councils is no different to that of his predecessor, Phil Woolas. The tone may be slightly less laconic but the familiar themes are all present and accounted for. Tight settlements, the importance of local accountability and, underpinning everything, the local area agreement as the answer to councils’ woes.

As he took the lectern to address the Local Government Association’s annual conference this afternoon, Mr Healey warned his first speech should be treated as a work in progress. The same certainly applied to the answers he gave to questions from the floor. Urged to abandon local government reorganisation, fully fund concessionary bus fares and reform the grant distribution system, all on his second day in office, he understandably pled the fifth.

But if there was one thing to prick the ears of the delegates, it was the revelation the Treasury’s sub-national review of economic development and regeneration was completed last week. It is this piece of work that will reveal what steps Gordon Brown plans to take to enable councils to grow their local economies. Supplementary business rates? Super-LABGI? Regeneration bonds? All will be revealed.

Mr Healey refused to elaborate on when the review will see the light of day but the word on the lips of some in Birmingham was that it could be as soon as ten days’ time.

The only signs of discontent in the audience came when he spoke of the tough settlement to come for councils. But for most this has become a familiar theme.

He finished off by telling the conference “I will consult you, I will challenge you, I will make some decisions you won’t like but I will remain completely committed to local government”. An intriguing start.

Added by Daniel Drillsma-Milgrom live from conference