Twenty-six councils have bid for unitary status – with just five hoping to become two-tier pathfinders. Many of the councils on the list have been actively campaigning for unitary status for several years. ‘The existing two-tier system has outlived its usefulness,' said Durham CC leader, Albert Nugent. ‘It offers blurred accountability, and unnecessary duplication of effort, expense and manpower.' There are multiple bids in counties such as Cheshire, where plans for a single unitary, two unitaries and three unitaries have all been submitted. In Northumberland, the county council has submitted a plan for a single unitary, while districts have submitted their own plans for two unitaries. There are also opposing plans in Bedfordshire, Durham and Somerset. South Somerset chief executive, Phil Dolan, said he hoped the DCLG would let alternative bids be on the shortlist. ‘If there are two bids, then put both them out to the stakeholders,' he said. ‘Let local people have their say.' Shrewsbury and Atcham BC have complained to the Audit Commission about Shropshire CC's ‘one-sided' unitary campaign. Robin Hooper, Shrewsbury and Atcham BC chief executive, said: ‘The councillors who voted for this were very concerned.' Secretary of state Ruth Kelly said: ‘Our goal has always been to ensure that the services on offer to our communities are responsive, effective and efficient. We have always made it clear that the status quo is not an option. In some areas, new unitary councils may be the way forward, and in all continuing two-tier areas, councils must improve the way they work with each other.' The DCLG will publish a list of councils going for unitary status next month, before making a final decision in July. Conservative local government minister, Eric Pickles, said restructuring was nothing to do with ‘making local government work better'. And Liberal Democrat local government spokesman, Tom Brake, said the Government ‘must be open and transparent' in how it assesses the bids. The final unitary list Bedford BC Bedfordshire CC Cheshire CC Chester City Council Cornwall CC Cornwall districts Cumbria CC Durham CC Durham districts East Riding of Yorkshire Council Ellesmere Port BC and Neston BC Exeter City Council Ipswich BC Lancaster City Council Mid Bedfordshire DC and South Bedfordshire DC North Yorkshire CC Northumberland CC Northumberland districts Norwich City Council Oxford City Council Pendle BC and Burnley BC Preston City Council Shropshire CC Somerset CC South Somerset DC Wiltshire CC
