Peterborough City Council has already spent time and money preparing for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).
Now the Government has paused the process.
At a time when council finances are already under enormous pressure, residents have every right to ask a simple question:
How much has this cost Peterborough taxpayers, and who is going to pay for it?
Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, Conservative Group Leader, has put forward a motion calling for the full cost of LGR to date to be established and for the Government to reimburse the council for costs incurred as a direct result of the process.
The council has already been working on proposals and submitting options for how local government could be reorganised across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Wayne has also called for the Government to provide clear answers about the future of LGR before councils are expected to spend any more taxpayers’ money on the process.
As Cllr Fitzgerald said:
“At a time when council finances are already under enormous pressure, every pound unnecessarily spent on Local Government Reorganisation is a pound which cannot be spent on the services our residents rely on.”
Peterborough taxpayers should not be left picking up the bill for a Government U-turn.
We will continue to press for answers, transparency and for local taxpayers to be protected from unnecessary costs.