There is still time to have your say to help shape the future of local government in Southern and Mid Staffordshire.
A survey was launched late last month (July) by six councils covering the Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, Stafford Borough and Tamworth council areas asking residents, businesses and organisations for their views.
Nearly 13,000 people have already shared their views and you have until Monday (1 September) to take part at https://online1.snapsurveys.com/shapingstaffordshire.
Leaders from the six councils have been working together as part of plans for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). LGR is taking place across the country and will see unitary councils created that will cover everything from household waste collections and fixing roads, to street cleaning and looking after elderly and vulnerable people. It will mean all six councils being abolished in 2028.
As well as the online survey, paper copies are available in many libraries as well as at council offices. Council staff have attended community events, and engagement sessions have been run to urge people to fill in the questionnaire.
With less than two weeks to go until the survey closes the six councils are calling on people to make their views heard before it is too late. There will also be more opportunities for people to share their feedback over the coming days with further engagement sessions going on – which residents can find out about from their council’s website and social media channels.
The Government set out plans late last year which will see all councils in shire areas including Staffordshire replaced with fewer councils, known as ‘unitaries’, which are then responsible for all services in their area – with the Government indicating that these should be established using existing district boundaries.
The six councils have worked together for many years on various projects, or sharing functions, to help deliver more efficient services for residents and businesses – and they submitted an interim proposal to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in March. In that proposal to MHCLG the councils said that using existing local authority boundaries would result in a smoother, and more cost-effective process of reorganisation.
A full business case must be submitted to the Government for consideration in November.
More information on Local Government Reorganisation can be found on the websites of all six councils.
Other councils across Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent are also expected to put forward proposals for new authorities.
