Local government entities are under serious financial pressure, and procurement is tasked with helping to reduce spend.
Hampshire faces criticism for unitary council plans
Plans to restructure local government in Hampshire into a unitary council have been criticised as being ‘unwieldy’.
Hampshire County Council announced that it would consult on the restructure, which could take the form of a single unitary option or two combined authorities covering the Solent region and the heart of Hampshire.
However, council leaders have described the idea of a unitary council as ‘localism in reverse’.
Leaders of East Hampshire, Eastleigh, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth and Southampton councils released a joint statement condemning the plan which they claim ‘exceeds the government's own standards for scale and manageability’ and would further distance local populations from services.
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