About the proposal

A decision has been made regarding Local Government Reorganisation.

The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced that three unitary councils for Suffolk are to be created, replacing the current six authorities. These new authorities will cover western Suffolk, central & eastern Suffolk and Ipswich & southern Suffolk.

Three Councils will:

Be simpler for residents

Providing a single point of contact where you live

Be more accountable

No more confusion over responsibilities

Provide greater value for money

Saving Suffolk £106 million in the first five years

Offer stronger, more joined-up services

Delivering better outcomes and services where they’re needed most

Mean better decision making

A single council where you live means decisions can be made locally to you, more quickly

Three
strong local voices championing their communities.

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Three local areas playing to their natural economic strengths.

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Three
local strategies for investment where it’s actually needed.

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That’s Suffolk to the power of three.

Three Councils for Suffolk will deliver:

Payback:

4.3 Years

The length of time it will take for the costs of change to be paid back by savings, and a “breakeven” point reached.

Annual service investment:

£20 million

The proposals ensure that there is sufficient resource to deliver service improvement e.g. making better use of technology.

Savings in first 5 years:

£106 Million

This is an amalgamation of savings delivered through economies and efficiencies, use of technology, harmonising services etc.

Annual savings after 5 years:

£34 Million

These are the ongoing savings every year after the first five years. £20m of this could be reinvested in services.

We have worked closely with specialist accountants, KPMG, to analyse the current budgets for all six councils in Suffolk and the costs of change.

One off implementation cost:

£39 Million

These are the costs of change e.g. novating legal contracts, programme management, bringing services together, procurement etc