Please find below the Joint Statement of the Leaders of Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset County Council, South Somerset District Council, Taunton Deane Borough Council and West Somerset District Council with regards to working together for the communities of Somerset. This was issued to Mendip District Councillors and others on 13th November 2018:

“The Chief Executives of Somerset’s councils can confirm that a partner has been appointed to assist their work in assessing all the possibilities for the future of local government service provision in the county.

Ignite has been selected to support the work of the council in determining the best future for Local Government in the county. Ignite is an organisation with a strong record in innovation and change consultancy and is dedicated to transforming the face of public services strategy, portfolio and programme development, operating model design and change delivery.

The work that has been commissioned is intended to explore a full range of options for change*.

The output of this work will be used to inform any debate the Leaders would then wish to take forward within their wider Councils on the future of service delivery of Local Government in Somerset.

Who is carrying out the work and what is their experience?

The Councils ran a competitive procurement process to appoint a company or consortia with the right blend of expertise and credibility. The appointed supplier is a consortium led by Ignite together with Collaborate, Pixel Financial Management and De Montfort University.

Ignite has been working for over a decade in the Local Government sector. This includes work with South Somerset, Taunton Deane and West Somerset councils. It has also worked with Unitary Councils and with police and health organisations.

Collaborate is a not for profit organisation that helps sectors and individuals to collaborate to tackle complex social challenges.

Pixel is a leading expert in local government finance and funding. It provides support and advice on funding to more than 100 local authorities. It has developed innovative products to help local authorities with their financial planning and forecasting.

De Montfort University – Local Governance Research Unit (LGPU) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence for robust and rigorous research into British and comparative local governance”.

What options are being studied?

I understand that a full range of options for change include:

1. a ‘no change option’;
2. a transformation option looking at retaining all authorities and adopting different business models for delivery; and
3. a significant number of structural options which also take account of the potential interests of Bath & North East Somerset Council and North Somerset Council (these Councils are not part of this specific Commission).

I understand that the councils are interested in how different options:

• Demonstrate improved value for money and efficiency;
• Deliver significant cost savings, showing that the cost of change can be recovered over a fixed period;
• Improve services and outcomes for local residents;
• Provide stronger strategic and more accountable local leadership;
• Demonstrate sustainability in the medium to long term, both in service delivery and financial terms;
• Are based on a credible geography;
• Could potentially command a good deal of local support.

I will report back when we have the results of the study. It will be vital to inform residents of the viable options, the costs and benefits and impacts of these on our communities, public services and local democracy.

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