Six county councils in northern England look set to retain all social services responsibility in a proposed shake-up of local government, writes Craig Kenny.

The possible creation of two regional assemblies in the north has prompted a review of lower tiers of local government in Lancashire, Cumbria, Northumberland, Durham, Cheshire and North Yorkshire.

If the public votes for regional assemblies this autumn, county and district councils would be replaced by new unitary authorities, with options for between one and three per county.

Evidence to the Boundary Committee for England strongly suggests retaining existing county units. The Social Services Inspectorate questions the ability of sub-county level authorities to deliver a full range of social services in the case of both Lancashire and North Yorkshire.

Some bids for smaller unitary authorities in Lancashire tended to ‘underplay’ the implications of the Children Bill, the report said.
However, the committee had concerns about Cumbria Council's ‘weak’ Comprehensive Performance Assessment and a recent zero-star rating for its social services department.

The report also raises concerns about the recruitment of specialist social services staff if North Yorkshire were split into three.
But the SSI noted that there would be ‘challenging issues’ in providing social services for a county the size of Durham, despite the department’s two-star rating.

The county councils are resisting division. North Yorkshire CC’s leader Councillor John Weighell said that only a single unitary authority option would preserve the county’s ‘tremendous social care’.