More power transferred to new unitary authorities

More power transferred to new unitary authorities

Further regulations to facilitate the smooth progress of transition to new unitary authorities in seven areas across England have been laid before Parliament today by Communities Minister Parmjit Dhanda.

These regulations will transfer the functions of the outgoing councils to those new unitary councils on 1 April - keeping the implementation process well on track. This means that new councils will inherit responsibility for the day-to-day functions of those they are set to replace, such as waste collection, benefits and housing, giving them the powers they will need to ensure that these services continue to run smoothly. In addition the regulations will ensure that any property, rights and liabilities of the previous councils transfer in accordance with agreements that have been made locally between councils.

The new flagship councils are set to promote greater community involvement, reduce the duplication and inefficiency that can cause difficulty in a two-tier system, and bring efficiency savings of around £100m which can be redirected to reduce council tax or fund local improvements.

Communities Minister Parmjit Dhanda said:

"These regulations underpin our commitment to supporting those councils implementing their unitary proposals, and to provide the key building blocks to deliver the transformational change and quality services communities expect and deserve.

"They will place the new councils in the strongest possible position from day one. We will continue to work closely with the authorities concerned to ensure that transition to unitary status takes place smoothly and efficiently."

Notes to editors

The Transfer of Functions, Property, Rights and Liabilities Regulations will be essential in establishing strong legal foundations for the new unitary councils. Providing a "light touch" framework which allows for local flexibility, they will ensure that new councils will inherit the functions of those they are set to replace,

• The Regulations.

a) Transfer functions of predecessor councils (ie a council that is to be abolished) in an area to the new single tier council for that area, for example, where there is a new county unitary, all district functions, and where there will be two or more new unitaries for an existing county area, all county and district functions.

b) Predecessor councils are required to provide details of contracts, actions or proceedings or other relevant information relating to the predecessor council's property, rights or liabilities to the successor council to facilitate the implementation of these regulations. In the majority of cases and unless otherwise agreed by both councils, these details/information must be provided not later than 6 months before the reorganisation date (ie end of September 2008).

c) Where there is only one successor council for a predecessor council that all of the property, rights and liabilities of that predecessor council (including property held for charitable purposes) transfer to the successor council for that area.d) Where there are 2 or more successor councils for an area (ie Cheshire and Bedfordshire):-

• that all financial reserves from the predecessor councils transfer to a nominated council on trust until agreement is reached as to the division of those reserves between the successor councils.
• that the successor councils shall use their best endeavours to reach agreement as to the transfer of property which is not associated property or relevant shares;
• that where an agreement has been made to transfer property rights and liabilities of a predecessor council shall vest accordingly;
• a caretaker council, as nominated by the SoS - where there are 2 or more councils for an area (ie Cheshire and Bedfordshire) is appointed and that where there has been no agreement between the successor councils as to the transfer of particular property, rights or liabilities of the predecessor council, three months before the reorganisation date (ie end of December 2008) then these matters transfer to the caretaker council (successor councils continue to use their best endeavours to reach agreement before the reorganisation date);

e) For the appointment of a person agreed on by parties concerned or failing their agreement, the SoS for the resolution of disputes as to the interpretation or application of the regulations.

• Further sets of regulations will be laid over the coming months dealing with other transitional matters, finance issues (including the preparations needed for the setting of council tax for the new unitary councils) and ceremonial matters.
• Further details on the contents of the Regulations may be found in the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum, at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/sis18-08 (external link).