Reacting to today's announcement by the Secretary of State for Communities, Housing and Local Government, that the government's "reorganisation" plans for Hampshire have been halted, Damian said:
"I have consistently argued that the Government’s top-down reorganisation of local government would be a costly and bureaucratic exercise that nobody asked for - and nobody voted for. Worse still, it risked taking local services further away from the people they are there to serve, while increasing costs in key areas.
“So I’m pleased that the Government has finally hit the pause button on this disastrous scheme.
“It sounds very much like it was legal advice, rather than an actual change of heart, that has produced the pause. So whether this turns into a full u-turn, or simply a pause and reset, remains to be seen.
“For now, at least, East Hampshire stays together.
“But already there has been waste - in time, focus and money - as a result of pursuing an ill-thought-through scheme and then changing the spec part-way through.
“We shall see what ministers' next move will be. I will continue to make the case for keeping East Hampshire together.”
-Ends-
