Star comment: Keeping a careful balance
A think tank has suggested cutting the number of local authorities and giving them control of key public services, such as the NHS.
And perhaps not surprisingly, the idea has been as welcome as a wet Wednesday by those who work in local authorities.
After all, voting to cut the number of councils would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.
And yet we like to think that some councillors and officers would consider the greater good, rather than be slavishly tied to such self-interest. After all, they are the ones at the coal face who can see what works well and what does not, what is a waste of money and what should be protected.
The opposition to a new plan for super-councils that would control public spending and involve themselves in the NHS should therefore be considered with the greatest care.
We have already seen a dramatic shrinking of the state in recent years. And whether it is either practical or ideologically desirable to make further rationalisations deserves great scrutiny. The effect of cuts has been to rid us of a level of service that we once may have taken for granted. Local courts have either closed or their administrative facilities centralised in areas where there is no local knowledge.
The emergency services are now run by people sitting in remote offices where workers have little or no idea of the terrain.
And councils can frequently not afford basic services, least of all facilities for sports, arts and culture.
Our NHS and social care facilities are struggling.
We are all aware of the pressures on public funding and there are no longer the resources or infrastructure that we might reasonably desire and expect.
People have had to put up with cancelled operations, are not allowed access to drugs or delays in basic care.
Against that backdrop, we must consider whether it would be practical or beneficial to lose the local authorities that intersect with so many lives.
The think tanks and Conservatives who tell us to live within our means may have a point. We do not live in a blank cheque State.
But we may also wish to prioritise certain services like those provided by knowledgeable and hard-working local council officers and elected members.
There is plenty to consider as councillors and officers understand the fragility of their own positions.
Ultimately, we need a system that helps all of society and protects the most vulnerable.
