Options for Cambridgeshire's unitary councils announced
Three options for creating new unitary councils across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been identified, council leaders announced. The news was made in response to a national government requirement to replace the current district, county and city councils with simpler unitary councils.The options identified included merging councils in a north-west and south-east grouping, a north and south grouping or east and west grouping.Council leaders said in a joint statement: "The three options each contain two new unitary councils that would in future cover the entire Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area and replace all existing local authorities."
The statement was issued by the leaders at East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, Cambridge City Council and Peterborough City Council. It added: "As council leaders we are working collaboratively in the best interest of residents and businesses across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough."The government's reorganisation agenda has raised some challenging issues for us all which we have been working through collectively over the last few months.We still have outstanding questions and issues which have yet to be resolved."However, we agree that there are currently three options that appear to be the most financially viable based on the government's criteria. These options are based on existing authority boundaries and are being further developed to be submitted to government by late November."
Proposals for unitary councils
From April 2028, rather than dealing with separate county, city, and district authorities, residents will access all services - including road maintenance, bin collections, education, planning, social housing, social care, and benefits support - through a unitary council.Parish and town councils will not be affected and will continue to operate as they do now, serving local communities.Proposal A would mean the first unitary council would include Peterborough City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, and Fenland District Council. The second unitary council would include Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District CouncilProposal B would see Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Fenland District Council and Huntingdonshire District Councils working as a unitary authority. Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council would form the otherProposal C would include Peterborough City Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and Fenland District Council as a combined council. This would leave Cambridge City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council together. All of the unitary councils would have county council functions.The statement said each option has "different strengths and implications for services" and it encouraged resident, businesses and partner agencies to share their views through a consultation due to be launched next week."We also want to take this opportunity to reassure residents that services will not be affected," they added.
Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
MPs to debate changes to assisted dying bill ahead of key vote
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, which proposes legalising assisted dying for terminally ill adults, returns to Parliament for further debate and potential amendments. MPs will discuss regulations for substances used in assisted dying and a proposed ban on advertising assisted dying services, with concerns raised about potential loopholes. The Bill has divided opinions, with some medical professionals and disability campaigners expressing concerns about safeguards and potential coercion, while others support the Bill for providing choice and compassion. Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, has urged that children's voices be heard in the debate, highlighting worries about potential extensions of the legislation to minors. Kim Leadbeater, who introduced the bill, said advertising the measures 'would feel inappropriate'.
BBC News
35 minutes ago
- BBC News
Reform wins rescheduled Nottinghamshire County Council Election
Reform UK has won two seats on Nottinghamshire County Council in a rescheduled in the Mansfield North division was originally due to take place along with all other council seats in early May but was postponed after the death of Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate Karen area's two council seats were previously held by the Conservatives and Labour Gaynor Mann and David Smith won both by comfortable margins at the rearranged election held on Thursday. Mann said the party's momentum "is increasing every day" and "it's onwards and upwards for Reform UK"."I think Nigel Farage is going to be Prime Minister in another four years," she said it was "fantastic" to be elected."Whatever the residents' problems are, we will be there for them," he full results were:Gaynor Mann (Reform UK) - 3,077David Smith (Reform UK) - 2,998Anne Callaghan (Labour) - 1,259Andy Abrahams (Labour) - 1,211Timothy Bower (Conservatives) - 500Amy Clements (Conservatives) - 426Christopher Clarke (Green Party) - 292Milo Tooley-Okonkwo (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) - 62Otis Tooley-Okonkwo (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition) - 39Turnout for the rescheduled election was 28%.The result does not change who is in control of the county council because Reform already had enough seats for a majority, but the party now has 41 of the 66 Conservatives are the next largest group with 17 seats, while Labour has Ashfield Independents, the Broxtowe Alliance and the Broxtowe Independent Group each have 1 seat.A by-election is also due to be held in the Newark West division on 3 July after a Reform councillor stepped down a week after being elected.
Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Mosque praised by Lord Hermer rebuked by watchdog for anti-Israel sermon
A mosque praised by Lord Hermer has been rebuked over an anti-Israel sermon in which Muslims were urged to 'wage war for Allah', The Telegraph can reveal. The Abdullah Quilliam Society, which was branded 'inspiring' by the Attorney General last year, has been issued with an official warning over the 'inflammatory' talk held shortly after the October 7 massacre in 2023. In the sermon focused on the war in Gaza, Haroon Hanif, an Islamic preacher, accused Israel of 'genocide' and told worshippers that Muslims should 'continue waging your war for Allah and his messenger, don't back down'. He added: 'We're large in numbers right now, two billion. If the two billion just marched on Israel, it's all over; if you spat in the direction of Israel, two billion, it's all over.' He also suggested that Muslims could be empowered to 'wipe out the Israelis in a blink of an eye' if they put their faith in Allah. The nature of Mr Hanif's affiliation with the mosque, if any, is unknown. He delivered the sermon on Oct 20, roughly two weeks after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7. The comments, which were livestreamed on social media, prompted campaigners to refer the Abudullah Quilliam Society and seven other Islamic charities to the Charity Commission. The watchdog has now ruled that the mosque has committed a breach of trust or duty, or other misconduct or mismanagement, and issued it with an official warning under the Charities Act 2011. This means that the charity, which has previously received around £8,000 in government grants, will have to take action to rectify the problem, including implementing 'robust' policies regarding the choice of speakers. Stephen Roake, the Charity Commission's assistant director for compliance visits and inspections, told The Telegraph: 'We are clear that the sermon delivered at the Abdullah Quilliam Foundation was inflammatory, divisive and unacceptable. 'Our robust action in issuing the charity with an official warning sends a clear message to this charity, and the sector more widely. 'We now expect the charity's trustees to learn from what went wrong, and put in place the measures we've set out to protect the charity from further harm, including policies on speakers and social media use.' 'A huge, huge pleasure' Lord Hermer went to visit the Abdullah Quilliam Society in August 2024, where he discussed ways to keep the Muslim community safe in the wake of the riots triggered by the Southport killings. He said it had been 'truly wonderful' to hear about the community's response to the protests, which affected the mosque directly, and said he had come away with 'many ideas'. In a video posted on the society's Instagram account, he said: 'It's been inspiring learning about the work of this mosque... It has been a huge, huge pleasure.' It is understood that his trip to the mosque was organised through local justice and policing teams and formed part of a wider set of visits to the area that day. The charity's stated purpose is 'to promote correct knowledge and understanding of Islam and its true spirit and faith for the benefit of all'. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Abdullah Quilliam Society (@aqsociety) In the sermon in October 2023, Mr Hanif said, 'any Muslim who thinks the Palestinians are terrorists... you need to question your imam (belief)'. Towards the end of the talk, he said: 'The message, whatever we're seeing happening right now... You and I can't do anything unless we do something with him... And everything that's happening... Allah's friend can wipe out the Israelis in a blink of an eye. 'He can wipe them out... He can send the most powerful of all armies against them... He can send against them a virus, corona, he can send anything against them... Allah has armies beyond what we can imagine. He can finish it in a moment. Just have iman in him.' In the official warning to the mosque, handed down on Thursday, the Charity Commission ruled that the sermon was 'inflammatory and divisive' and 'not in the charity's best interest'. It found that the society 'failed to have effective policies in place', including 'those related to speakers' and ordered it to 'create, implement, and adhere to robust and suitable policies' to ensure its assets are 'not exposed to undue risk in the furtherance of its objects' in future. It added that 'failure to remedy the breach of duty and/or misconduct and/or mismanagement specified above may lead to further regulatory action'.
