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The Government has announced it is moving forward with the five county councils which bid for enhanced two-tier Pathfinder status. Local government minister, John Healey, said the DCLG would work with the five bids and all the other councils not moving to unitary status to improve service delivery and empower citizens. ‘The five Pathfinder areas will pioneer new ways of working and demonstrate for all councils in remaining two-tier areas how better services and greater efficiency gains can be achieved,' he said. The announcement was welcomed by all five councils which had bid for unitary status. Lincolnshire CC leader, Martin Hill, said he was pleased that all the bids were successful. Cllr Hill said the council was close to signing off agreements on procurement and shared services under its shared services initiative. He said: ‘Although Pathfinder status will deliver savings, the more important thing is improving how we provide the services.' Cllr Hill said the authority would also be rolling out ‘one or two' pilot projects with the districts to improve neighbourhood engagement. ‘In practical terms, the Pathfinder status actually means relatively little,' said Buckinghamshire CC's deputy leader, Bill Chapple. ‘We don't expect there to be more funding for this initiative and all five authorities in Buckinghamshire had already signed up to see how we could work more closely together, regardless of the outcome of our bid. ‘However, it is likely to mean that we will receive support, help and advice from the Government and other agencies on how to improve our services and our progress will be periodically reviewed and assessed.' Pathfinders Buckinghamshire CC Dorset CC Hertfordshire CC Lincolnshire CC Suffolk CC (excluding Ipswich BC)

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WHITEHALL

Five Pathfinder bids under way

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