The most radical proposals to shake up Scottish local democracy in a generation are revealed today, including plans to merge health and social care for a third of the country’s population.
Sir John Arbuthnott’s long-awaited report on restructuring services for eight councils in the west of Scotland says action is vital, with budgets likely to be cut by up to 15% over the next four years and the impact of the recession felt for up to another two decades.
He calls for joint transport, waste management and property ownership to be introduced, and some education services provided across council boundaries.
Scottish Government ministers have been briefed on the report and are expected to respond to its recommendations in the coming days. Sir John insists his proposals cannot be implemented without the backing of Holyrood
and Westminster.
The councils involved – North and South Lanarkshire, East and West Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire, Glasgow and Inverclyde – now have just a few months to thrash out which of the recommendations they will pursue.
The moves follow The Herald’s Reshaping Scotland campaign to streamline local council services.
Throughout this week The Herald will examine the individual recommendations and their ramifications not only for the eight Clyde Valley councils but Scotland as a whole.
If implemented, the proposals would serve as a template for the rest of the country and lead to reform of other agencies, including mergers between police forces, NHS boards and fire and rescue services, and major changes at Scottish Enterprise and Jobcentre Plus.
In his introduction to The Clyde Valley Review, Sir John, a former university principal and NHS chairman, states: “The Clyde Valley Partnership had the foresight to commission this review when the financial picture was emerging. Urgency is now required in how they address the financial squeeze.”
He adds: “They cannot afford to continue as they are and things cannot remain the same. They must do this together. The scale of the challenge is unprecedented. It will affect directly the amount of money available to local government for the next 10 and possibly 20 years.”
Described as a “road map” to reform, Sir John’s report has attempted to accelerate and radicalise the notion of councils sharing services and resources.
Sir John has ruled out revisiting local authority boundaries, but he concedes that they may be reconsidered in the longer term.
Iain Robertson, leader of West Dunbartonshire Council and chairman of the Clyde Valley Partnership, said the body welcomed Sir John’s review “without exception”.
He said: “We have five years to make significant progress and this is the time for innovation. There will be pitfalls and there will be debate, but this should never be a reason not to move forward.”
Steven Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council, added: “This is a serious and substantial piece of work. It gives us a road map to how we can work together to provide better services while spending less taxpayers’ money.”
