Council Shake-up Fails At Stormont

There's a dark cloud hanging over Stormont Executive plans for an agreed deal on the future direction for Northern Ireland's councils.

Executive ministers adjourned a five-hour long meeting aimed at resolving the impasse over the future of local government last night. However, the Ministers are due to meet again on Monday after further discussions over the weekend about a plan to reduce the 26 councils to 11.

Time is pressing as the Executive is under pressure to decide in time to allow elections planned for May next year to go ahead.

Last month, NI Environment Minister Edwin Poots agreed to a two-week delay in the necessary decision-making process to get it moving forward.

That was in spite of the NI Minister of State Hugo Swire insisting that a decision was urgently required, so as to allow sufficient time for the local government elections next May.

In March 2008, the Executive agreed a plan to reduce the number of local authorities by 2011. The move aims to save the Executive more than £400m over 25 years by cutting bureaucracy.

Nine million pounds has so far been spent on bringing in the changes, including plans for 11 new supercouncils with enhanced powers.

Cutting the number of councils was part of the wider Review of Public Administration, which, including reforms to the health and education sectors.

The move is now in near-crisis after the second-longest Executive meeting since devolution was restored again failed to find a formula to allow elections to go ahead to 11 new fully-functioning councils next May, culled from the present 26.

Previously, Environment Minister Edwin Poots said the cost of the streamlining process is estimated to be about £118m but insisted that councils themselves should pay the cost of reform.

See: Council Merger Deadline Is 'Missed'

(BMcC/GK)