The independent Boundary Committee had recommended that these councils not be given unitary status as they failed to demonstrate it would provide value for money for the tax payers and extra fragmentation of council services would not help the residents.
The Communities Secretary Eric Pickles today rescinded earlier orders and put an immediate stop in granting unitary status to Exeter, Norwich And Suffolk councils. DCLG claims this move would save £40 million of the tax payers money and remove the risk of council tax increase to support the massive reorganisation plans.
"When the priority must be to tackle the immense public deficit we have inherited, it is ludicrous that taxpayers' money is being wasted imposing a council reorganisation in Exeter and Norwich," said Mr. Pickles before adding "councils in Devon, Norfolk and Suffolk will now be able to concentrate on delivering services to their communities and achieving genuine savings for the local people who elected them."
This decision by the DCLG also puts a stop to all reorganisation plans in Suffolk including the "constitutional convention" to reach a consensus on a unitary structure for Suffolk.
