The government pitch in its local government reorganisation plan is that removing a tier (district councils) from local government will save money. 

The Labour Chair of Commons’ local government committee, Florence Eshalomi, is reported as saying the government “still haven’t provided” the evidence that it will provide significant savings.

This is also the claim of Devon County Leader Julian Brazil.

If removing a tier can make savings we should be able to find evidence from what our two existing Combined Authorities (Plymouth & Torbay) are charging for providing their unified services compared to the two tier districts. (Cllr. Tudor Evans asserted this on last week on BBC Spotlight, “taking out a tier is bound to make savings”).

Simples!

Except the evidence doesn’t support the case – especially on debt where Devon residents living in Combined Authorities have a debt burden two to three times greater than those living in lower tier districts administered by upper tier Devon County Council.

Council Tax

Let’s look at some Band D council tax charges for 26/27. [All data taken from the relevant authorities web sites]

In Plymouth City Combined Authority the charge is £2,441.85.

In Exeter City, two tier authority it is  £2,495.36 (including the bit that goes to the upper tier Devon County.)

Not a lot of difference.

In Torbay Combined Authority for Torquay & Paignton it is  £2,456.99, a bit more than Plymouth.

But in Torbay, Brixham & Town Council it is  £2,556.06 which is more than Exeter.

Why two different charges within the same Unitary Authority? 

Well what the government describes as a two tier system is actually a three tier one. 

When the Torbay Combined Authority was formed, Brixham decided to retain its old town council to provide localised services and community amenities that aren’t managed by Torbay Council. This includes maintaining local allotments, the harbour area, public toilets, and other specific community projects. The extra c £100 is levied to pay for that.

Something similar is likely to be wanted by all those towns and parishes being grabbed by Exeter such as Crediton, Dawlish and Exmouth.

The average East Devon band D charge is £2,595.46 which, of course, includes the town or parish levy. So stripping out the levy of around the £100 mark takes the charge back to something close to Plymouth/Torbay.

So Owl asks the question: is there any significant difference between these and where is the evidence for savings to be made by reorganisation?

There are possible explanations for this lack  of difference.

Councils may be pricing their council tax take to a similar perception of what the “market can bear” and the lack of difference disguises the significant improvement in services that can be provided in an urban setting. However both Plymouth and Exeter are cities with universities, major hospitals and extensive public transport networks. One is a Unitary, the other is in a two tier arrangement. They charge much the same.

Counter intuitively, another explanation could be that district councils are actually an efficient way of administering services in distributed rural areas and counties an efficient way of administering central services at scale?

Is this the inconvenient truth?

(For comparison; Band D Council Tax in Manchester is  £2312.04  and for London Boroughs, it ranges from the cheapest, Wandsworth: £1,020.35, to expensive Kingston upon Thames: £2,609.20.)

Now to debt and profligacy – Surely this will make a clear case for Combines Authorities?

Local Authorities have been underfunded for years and are swimming in debt.

Owl now examines how our local Combined Authorities of Plymouth and Torbay compare against two examples taken from our two tier system: the City of Exeter with its share of Devon’s debt, and East Devon with its share of Devon’s debt. An appropriate basis for comparison is not the total debt but the debt burden apportioned per head of their respective populations.

The basic data and combined data are shown in the table below.

Authority	Debt £m	Burden per person £
	Combined Authorities
Plymouth City	£936m – yes nearly 1 Bn!	£3,120
Torbay	£383m	£2,750
	Two Tier Authorities
Devon	£518m	£620
Exeter	£165m	£1,196
East Devon	£84M	£550
	Two Tiers aggregated
	Exeter + Devon slice	£1,816
	East Devon + Devon slice	£1,170

(All figures approximate)

First observation is that people living in combined authorities have a much higher debt burden hanging over their heads than those living in Districts under County Hall administration. By a factor of two or three in the case of East Devon.

The precise burden will vary district by district.

The second observation is that the urban areas of Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter seem to borrow more heavily than their rural counterparts.

Worth remembering that Exeter’s Labour MP, Steve Race, said that it had been “increasingly unsustainable for Exeter to remain a poorly funded district council, with most spending decisions taken by Devon County Council”. I.e. Exeter wants more cash!

Where is the Magic Money Tree to be found to fill Exeter’s begging bowl?

In the pockets of all those living in Teignbridge, Mid Devon and East Devon who have been swallowed up by avaricious Exeter! – Owl