Once upon a time is how all fairy tales start. The latest one I have read is the One Suffolk proposal for a single mega council covering the whole of Suffolk, alongside a giant council for the whole of Norfolk.
This Alice in Wonderland tale seems to have arrived at the Mad Hatter’s tea party! One Suffolk is the same old Suffolk County Council (SCC), with the same tired ideas and nothing new on the table.
They promise a “revitalised highways service that says ‘yes’ - acting swiftly” but what is stopping them doing that right now? What has been holding them back for the last two decades? A recent Traffic Regulation Order for Ipswich Town Centre has taken nearly four years to come into effect.
There is no big saving to be had from amalgamation of county and district councils on roads. Ipswich Borough Council (IBC) only covers bus shelters. The vast bulk of transport sits with SCC at present.
Recently, the Ipswich Star highlighted public concerns about the West End bus lane, installed by SCC in July 2023. Despite 90% of public responders saying their journey was slower, nothing has changed.
The member of the public who highlighted this issue, said: "I wanted to highlight the failure to listen from the county council to residents and road users regarding the consultation.”
A simpler, better and proactive highways service that acts quickly and delivers results – why don’t they do this right now? They could start by acting on the bus lane feedback.
There’s no mention of Ipswich Buses Ltd in the proposal, wonder why that is?
One Suffolk will be the same councillors, the same contractors and the same frustrations.
It is good to read that “Suffolk’s Children and Young People (CYP) services are on a clear improvement journey” though this has been a long time coming. OFSTED found “A system that has not worked well for a long time” and “Widespread and systemic gaps in service provision.” It took a lot of public pressure to get this service onto a decent way forward.
SCC’s CYP Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit stood at £44m at the end of March 2025 and is expected to grow every year with a forecast DSG deficit of £359m by 2028. A huge financial headache for their successors.
One thing that SCC did last year that stuck in my throat was their decision to decommission a large chunk of their Housing Related Support Services, with very short notice. This made a large number of 25-34 year old single people homeless, which basically passed the buck to IBC and the other districts, due to their responsibility for homeless people. This was a cost shunt to IBC of about £350,000 per year – the other district councils also had to cover this cost.
SCC also lost a cabinet member this week, the one who terminated the contract with Suffolk Libraries. He has defected to Reform saying that "the Conservatives have let the country down.”
One Suffolk is a case of no vision; no reality; no use to the people of Suffolk.
Fortunately, there is a happy ever after, which has been proposed by the district and borough councils: three councils for Suffolk.
Reorganisation it is not all about money. What is important is the quality of service delivery, accountability and local services for local needs.
It will mean local decisions are made by local leaders and local representatives who live in and understand their communities.
It will bring decisions closer to home. Three councils for Suffolk will be Big enough to deliver, Local enough to care.
Neil MacDonald is a Labour councillor and the leader of Ipswich Borough Council.
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