THERE are just a few days left to have your say on Hampshire County Council’s ’Serving Hampshire’ consultation, which will set the foundations for what could prove to be a big shake-up in local government.

This comes as five district and borough councils in the county, including East Hampshire District Council (EHDC), have published a guide to “two different proposals” for the future of how local authorities are run.

But Hampshire County Council leader Roy Perry has insisted that all options are open and spoke this week of “misrepresentation” about what it is HCC is trying to do.

Despite Mr Perry’s comments, EHDC, Eastleigh Borough Council Council, Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council and Havant Borough Council have jointly published the ’Councils For Devolution’ guide.

This explains the pros and cons of two models.

Model 1: The combined authority option.

This, they say, will have “one councillor per 2,378 residents” with existing councils remaining “unchanged”.

It would have “no set up costs”, with plenty of other bonuses, including business rate retention “worth £178m per year”, with a “benefit per person of £331.53 per year”.

This option would service “567,188 residents” and would have “strong local representation for important matters”.

Also boroughs and districts would be able to “continue to innovate to make considerable savings”.

Model 2: The county unitary authority option.

According to EHDC and its co-authors of the guide, this would be a “single Hampshire-wide unitary authority” which they said is “one of the models being proposed by Hampshire County Council”.

Essentially it would see “one large authority governing Hampshire”, replacing “all district and borough councils”.

This option would see “one councillor per 17,200 residents” and would have a “£24.4million initial set up cost”.

It would have “no Government grant”, “no business rate retention”, with “redundancies expected”, “set up costs for new parish councils” and a “benefit per person of £30.75 per year”.

It would also see “1.35million residents serviced under one authority” so “complex geography and individual characteristics” would not be represented.

Therefore there would be “less local decision-making” and “less local representation for important matters”.

Under this model “all savings with boroughs and districts” will be “taken to help keep the expected council tax rises to a minimum”.

So it seems, based on these points, that EHDC would be likely to favour Model 1 - which is also the model in which it would remain in existence and control of the district.

Critics of these assertions have suggested there might be an element of bias.

Hampshire County Council leader Roy Perry was keen to reiterate that there are currently no options on the table.

“This consultation is all about how local council services across Hampshire are delivered in future, such as social care, roads, schools, refuse collection, waste recycling centres and country parks,” he said.

“Understandably, these types of services matter to local communities. This is why we’re keen to hear from residents before we develop any proposals for the Government to consider.

“As I’ve stressed before, the county council’s consultation is different from other councils’, in as much as we’re genuinely listening first and keeping all options open.

“I take the view that in a democracy you should ask first and decide second, not the other way round. This is a fundamental point, as there has been some degree of misrepresentation of our position, by other local councils."

Mr Perry continued: “Our consultation invites views on a range of options and does not propose any one single, preferred way forward. Only when we have heard from the people of Hampshire, will the county council make any decisions.

“It’s a fact that the majority of people in Hampshire are served by at least two councils - Hampshire County Council (responsible for most large-scale services, for example education, social care and road maintenance), and a district/ borough council (responsible for smaller services, forexample planning).

“Among other things, we’re asking residents whether the status quo is acceptable – could it be improved, or should a new structure be introduced?

“In considering these options, it’s important that we don’t lose sight of the scale of the financial challenge that lies ahead of all of us.

“Hampshire County Council alone will need to find an extra £120m of ongoing savings by 2019, on top of the £340m it will already have secured by 2017.

“The district and borough councils will be facing a similarly daunting picture.

“It’s because we’re faced with these challenges that we’re exploring all available options, in order to find a sustainable structure for local government for generations to come.

“Listening first, before taking fundamental decisions about the future - remains our commitment to the people of Hampshire.”

Full details about the Serving Hampshire consultation are available online at hants.gov.uk/servinghampshire. The consultation closes at midnight on September 20.

To see what EHDC and fellow district and borough councils have to say, visit councilsfordevolution.co.uk.