Warwickshire County Council Cabinet will meet this Thursday afternoon to discuss the reform plans for local government, and the impact that they will have in Warwickshire.

The Government have announced plans for a White Paper this autumn with a view to merging local authorities into unitary county councils.

At present, the local government system in Warwickshire follows a two-tier model, whereby there are five district and borough councils in the county, that all work underneath the county council.

The report for Warwickshire County Council published this August indicates significant changes to the current model, that could see the greatest change to local authorities since the Local Government Act 1972.

Three different models for change are suggested in the Strategic Case for Changes report.

Option One presents a modification on the current two-tier model, "but with optimised collaboration in some areas of duplicated responsibility, such as waste management, community safety or leisure."

Option Two suggests a single unitary approach for the whole county. This would mean that all five district and borough councils would merge with the county council to form one governing body for the entirety of Warwickshire.

Option Three proposes that two unitary bodies are formed, one in the north and one in the south of the county. This would effectively see the Warwick and Stratford-Upon-Avon district councils merging in the south, with Rugby, North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Councils conjoining in the north.

Two other options were discussed but ultimately discounted. These suggested either for three unitary bodies, or changes to configurations to combine with authorities outside the county boundaries.

Whilst the report does discuss all three options, the recommendation that comes from it is that "the case for unitary government for Warwickshire is compelling.

"It is compelling for Warwickshire's residents; for everyone committed to the prosperous future of all who live and work in our beautiful place; for Government who want to see Warwickshire play its full part in national growth and progression, and for everyone committed to effective, dynamic and truly local, government."

This clearly then would see the abolishment of all five district councils, and the formation of one single county-wide authority responsible for every aspect of governance that is currently shared across the five.

The report reaches this conclusion on the basis of a number of points.

Firstly, it argues that one body would provide greater accountability as well as "a strong voice for Warwickshire."

"A financially sustainable council fit for the future," is the second reason for a unitary approach.

Finally, it states that with the removal of district and borough councils, directly responsible for a smaller locality that, "a single unitary can balance scale and speed with a truly local focus."

The Minister for Local Government has already stated that the population of new unitary authorities is "expected to be substantially in excess of 300,000 - 400,000."

Given the population of Warwickshire is nearly 600,000 this would appear to fit said model.

County Council Izzi Seccombe has already warned that the "status quo is not a realistic option given the government's desire for change."

The sentiment of the County Council has not been shared across the board however. Bedworth Nub News has already reported that Bedworth's borough council leader Julie Jackson was cautious about such a change.

"As it stands the council voted some time ago that it is not in favour of such a proposition for a unitary authority."

For now, cabinet members will discuss the proposal at the meeting this Thursday, and conclude whether they are in support of the unitary proposal or not.

On September 22 the full council will then deliberate the proposed changes.

A decision to pursue change would then lead to public consultations whilst the report was submitted to the government.

If the council rejected the measures then the case for change would be withdrawn from the government.

The public are invited to watch the broadcast of the meeting from 1.45pm this Thursday afternoon.

Follow this link if you wish to view the details of the meeting and read the full report.