Sir, I read with interest your article in the Herald concerning the county council’s investigation into becoming a unitary authority for Oxfordshire.

I warmly welcome this initiative and applaud the county council exploring a proposal which could deliver serious cost savings by eliminating duplication across the five district councils and the county council.

Common sense dictates that there is little advantage to having six HR departments, six accounting teams, six IT systems, six contracts for more or less every service which is sub-contracted, not to mention supporting six sets of councillors and six sets of ‘strategic plans’ and six sets of public consultations for each of our public services.

Even more than the potential economic benefits, this would be a great step forward in simplifying responsibilities across the councils. Today people are very confused about which council does what, and which of their three councillors (not to mention their MP, MEP or Crime Commissioner) they should lobby to address issues they are concerned about.

A simple two-tier system with town or parish councils being accountable for very local stuff (eg playgrounds, parks, town centres, events, local planning approvals) and a county council that deals with the big stuff where benefits to scale exist (eg social services, infrastructure, waste, strategic housing plans, major contracts, education) would dramatically improve public understanding and accountability.

I urge the district councils and councillors to look beyond the temptation of self-preservation and to support these changes.

Councillor Iain Littlejohn

Abingdon Town Council