The huge bill for Hampshire and Solent councils preparing for the biggest shake-up in decades

The 15 councils across the county and the Isle of Wight have until September 26 to submit their preferred option for local government reorganisation (LGR).

Under a national scheme by the Labour government, LGR will see the current two-tier system replaced with larger unitary councils delivering all services.

As work on restructuring plans has progressed, local authorities in the region have been leaning on consultants for support.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has learned that come the submission of final proposals next month, councils are expecting to have spent at least £520,000 on consultancy work.

Earlier in the year, an initial submission to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government involved work by KPMG, which had been commissioned by all Hampshire and Isle of Wight councils.

A large portion of the consultant expenditure has been on the continuation of this joint work by 12 authorities but some local authorities have commissioned further seperate work.

As reported, Hampshire County Council and East Hampshire decided to work on their own plans as a partnership, while Gosport Borough Council is opposed to LGR and not committed any financial resources to formulating proposals.

Much of the consultancy cost has been covered using a £542,174 grant from government, which was awarded to support LGR preparations and split proportionally between the councils.

Southampton City Council looks to have paid the most on its own consultancy work, with the unitary authority confirming it had spent £60,000 in addition to the joint programme with other authorities.

Labour leader Cllr Alex Winning said LGR will see enormous changes to how services are delivered and it was important councils worked together to get it right - all while continuing to deliver day-to-day services now.

He said working with expert, independent consultants, who have worked on LGR elsewhere in the country, ensures councils have the right skills and capacity to coordinate the project.

The response each local authority gave to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on consultant expenditure is summarised as follows:

• Basingstoke and Deane: Expect to spend £50,000 on joint work by time of submission, with £30,000 covered by government grant. All consultancy support shared with other councils.
• East Hampshire: £10,000 on initial KPMG joint work, with £21,844 from government grant given to Hampshire County Council to “support current work”. No expenditure on its own consultants.
• Eastleigh: Paid £6,333.34 for collective interim submission work. Not commissioned its own consultants.
• Fareham: Not commissioned any external work itself but contributed £6,333.34 to work commissioned on behalf of all Hampshire local authorities.
• Gosport: No borough council funds have been used to pay consultants. Initial work on LGR was covered by money provided by the government.
• Hampshire County Council: Contributed approximately £81,000 towards joint consultancy work to date. Not paid anything on its own consultants.
• Hart: £6,000 as a contribution to the KPMG joint work.
• Havant: Contributed £6,333.34 to the joint work with KPMG so far and expecting around a further £7,000 on this. Not employed its own consultants.
• Isle of Wight: Anticipating that share of joint work will be £37,000 by the time of submission. Nothing spent on its own consultants.
• New Forest: Contributed £6,333 to joint commissioned ‘case for change’ work, with a further £22,000 contribution for developing ‘required narrative’ on their preferred option. District council has also spent £22,100 on their own consultants.
• Portsmouth: Anticipate paying £37,000 by the time of submission on share of joint work. Not used its own consultants.
• Rushmoor: Forecast to spend £25,800 on joint work when proposal goes in, with £19,200 of this coming from government funding. All consultancy work to date has been part of joint working.
• Southampton: £60,934 spent on joint work funded by government grant. £60,000 paid for its own consultants.
• Test Valley: Spent £6,333 on joint work consultants to date and has committed up to £61,000 towards a range of joint work with different councils. Borough council has spent £35,000 on its own consultants.
• Winchester: Expect share of ‘case for change’ consultant costs to be in the region of £36,000. Additional unspecified spend likely on market research within the Winchester district.