THROUGHOUT the current debate about the shape of local government in Devon, the most frequent questions we have been asked are: what would be the savings of new arrangements, and how would they affect council tax?

At the request of the Boundary Committee for England, the county council has now submitted costs and anticipated savings that a single unitary council would bring to Devon.

A single council responsible for all the services currently delivered by our eight district councils and one county council would bring about savings of £29-million by its fifth year, with ongoing annual savings thereafter of £19-million.  It would meet the initial transition costs in just three years and eight months of its start date.

The calculations allow for reductions in council tax to the level of the lowest across the county.  That means the majority of people would see council tax fall.  Ultimately though, the level of council tax would be decided by the new unitary council.

By contrast, a rural Devon unitary council that excludes Exeter, Exmouth and surrounding parishes would achieve savings of just £1.2-million by its fifth year and take nearly five years to pay off its initial transition costs.  Ongoing annual savings thereafter are £10-million.

Within ten years say, a single unitary council would save £124-million compared to the current districts and county arrangements. This is after investing in improved community services and will give the headroom to continue to support vital services and reduce the burden on council tax.

Our calculations have relied on financial information provided by district councils, and have been reviewed by independent financial consultants who have said that if anything, our figures understate the potential savings.

The figures might be conservative, but clearly they indicate that a move to a single unitary council would generate significant savings that far outweigh the initial transition costs, and that savings after initial costs for a single unitary council are greater than if Devon were to be broken into a larger number of smaller unitary councils.

Cllr Brian Greenslade

Leader of Devon County Council