Executive job cull and mass mergers: Council shake-up promises to be money saver

The biggest shake up of local government in decades is really down to cost saving - with ministers citing a PwC report that claims this move has the potential to save £2.9 billion over five years.

They gave the example of North Yorkshire where a shake up is expected to save £40 million plus by March 2026.

One of the big ways that this change saves money? By massively reducing the number of council chief executives and senior council figures on big salaries, when the total number of councils is slashed.

Take Essex as an example of how the shake-up will work. It has a county council spanning over 1.5m residents, that is in charge of adult and children's social care.

Beneath it are 10 small district councils that are responsible for other services like housing and collecting the bins.

Under the plans, they will be rolled together and replaced by three or maybe four unitary councils, each covering an area with say 300-500,000 people.

Sources say that one of the reasons that they want a simplified structure is to make it easier for residents who are currently confused about who is responsible for what services.

But the other big change is that in a county like Essex 13 councils will become three or four - doing away with eight or nine chief executives and other senior figures, as well as a number of councillors.

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Government sources see that as a massive money saver that they hope will put local government on a sustainable footing.

But a reshape that squeezes out so many people is unquestionably going to be controversial and not just because of delayed elections.

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