Arundel and South Downs MP Andrew Griffith has written to Angela Rayner MP, the re-appointed Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, calling for a swift resolution to more than two years of uncertainty over the future structure of local government in West Sussex.
In his letter to the Secretary of State, the MP argues that councils should be focused on repairing roads, investing in schools and delivering high-quality children's and adult social care, rather than being tied up in repeated consultations and structural reviews.
Mr Griffith is calling on the Government to abandon what he describes as its "top-down" reorganisation plans, citing a lack of local support, and instead allow district and county councils to concentrate on serving their communities.
However, he adds that if ministers remain committed to reorganisation, then a single unitary authority covering the whole of West Sussex would represent the least disruptive option. He notes that this would be consistent with arrangements already confirmed for neighbouring Brighton & Hove and East Sussex and would align with the new Sussex and Brighton Strategic Authority.
He concluded his letter by calling for a referendum because he believes that West Sussex residents deserve to have the final say, including a ‘no change’ option. This is needed, he says, because any proposal that “profoundly” changes local democratic representation should only proceed with the clear consent of local people.
