Meetings
The councils are working to decide how best to bring together services and have established a Joint Committee, a Joint Advisory Board and are establishing a Scrutiny process.
Agendas and minutes for future meetings will be available via this page. The meetings are open to the public. This is the agenda for the next LGR Advisory Board.
The Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Joint Committee
The LGR Joint Committee is designed to steer the move to a new single council. A number of democratic decisions and actions will need to be taken before the new unitary council is established in 2023. The LGR Joint Committee will oversee the implementation plan and development of the new unitary council’s constitution and budget. It has nine members, the leaders of the district and county councils and four further members of the County Council cabinet.
The first meeting was held on Friday 5 November in the Council Chamber at Mendip District Council, Shepton Mallet.
The Local Government Reorganisation Advisory Board
The Advisory Board is a less formal public meeting and is designed to provide a way for councillors, public sector partners, the public and other interested groups to feed into the process and share ideas as the new council takes shape. The Board will develop links to Somerset Youth Parliament.
The Board’s role is advisory, but its proposals, ideas and recommendations will feed into the unitary programme and the decision-making Joint Committee. Meetings will be held monthly in locations around the county.
Thank you to all who attended the LGR Advisory Board in Donyatt on Thursday 25 November. The presentation can be found here.
The Next Advisory Board will be held in Stoke St Gregory Village Hall, near Taunton, on 16 December from 3.30pm-5.30pm.
Local Government Reorganisation Scrutiny
LGR Scrutiny will work in the manner of scrutiny elsewhere in local government, operating as a critical friend and providing oversight and review of policy development ahead of decision making by the LGR Joint Committee, and ensuring that decision making processes are robust and transparent.