NALC welcomes calls for local government reorganisation

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) welcomes calls for local government reorganisation from Nicholas Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council who declared that the time had come to explore having new councils.

Responding to this announcement, Cllr Sue Baxter, chairman of NALC, said: “England's 10,000 local (parish and town) councils are the first tier of local government. Thousands of communities are benefitting from having a local council by giving them a voice and investing £3bn a year in an ever-increasing range of services.

“I welcome the recognition of local councils and their importance in this investigation into the potential for a single principal authority.

“More and more local councils are being established every year and I support moves to strengthen local democracy and bring it much closer to home in non-parish areas such as Loughborough and Coalville.

“Both NALC and the Leicestershire and Rutland Association of Local Councils look forward to having further dialogue on this issue.”