Cabinet to discuss legal options over new councils

Suffolk County Council is due to discuss its potential legal action against the government over the planned shake-up of local authorities.

The new Reform UK administration has said it plans to seek a judicial review of the proposal to scrap county, district and borough councils and replace them with three unitary authorities with more powers.

Its cabinet of nine councillors will consider a report based on correspondence with the government, but the Conservative group has criticised them for not bringing it to full council.

Reform said the report and correspondence would be published for everyone on Wednesday, before their cabinet meeting on 29 June.

"My administration has expressed serious reservations about local government reorganisation, so it's right that we have the opportunity to debate it, in public, and decide on the best next steps for Suffolk," said leader Michael Hadwen.

He previously described the reorganisation as "madness" and warned that the new unitaries would be competing for the same resources and services.

Both Norfolk and Essex county councils, where Reform also became the leading force in last month's local elections, have announced they will seek a judicial review.

The main opposition party at Suffolk, the Greens, are yet to respond to the meeting announcement.

Previously, its leader Andrew Stringer said unitary authorities would "give us the best chance of bringing services together while having accountability."

The Tories said there had been no clear explanation of the legal grounds for taking this action against the government.

"It's telling that Reform won't follow this council's own precedent of debating matters relating to local government reorganisation at full council," said Conservative group leader Richard Rout.

"They aren't just excluding opposition councillors but their own members too - what are they afraid of?

"We don't know the argument, and we don't know the cost, which could run well into six figures of taxpayers' money, with the risk of paying the government's legal bills on top if they lose."

If the High Court granted a judicial review, a senior judge would assess whether the government has acted within the law and has followed proper procedures.

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