Staff concern at local government reorganisation in Herts acknowledged at scrutiny meeting

Currently local government services are delivered across Hertfordshire by the county council and a network of 10 district and borough councils.

But as part of local government reorganisation plans, those 11 councils are set to be abolished and replaced by a number of ‘unitary’ authorities.

And existing councils in Hertfordshire are expected to submit reorganisation proposals for government consideration by November.

At a meeting of the county council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday (June 25) director of people Richard Taylor acknowledged staff concerns about stability, associated with local government reorganisation.

As part of a session focussed on recruitment and retention, he said local government reorganisation and devolution would undoubtedly bring opportunity and also challenge.

And he emphasised the need to communicate regularly and early with staff across the county council – making sure they know exactly what is happening that could potentially impact them.

During the debate, Green Party Cllr Steven Watson (Ware South) suggested that local government reorganisation could have “an increasingly distorting effect” going forward.

He pointed to other areas – such as Essex – that are likely to adopt unitary reforms more quickly, suggesting that these councils may offer staff more certainty going forward.

In response Mr Taylor pointed to a county council workforce that had become used to change and had built-up resilience.

And stressing the importance of regular and early communication with staff, he highlighted loyalty to Hertfordshire.

“I think if we can go on a journey together with our workforce what you tend to find is that stabilises things, because they are loyal to Hertfordshire,” he said. “They are not necessarily looking to leave.”

He did however acknowledge the greater security that people could see as being offered more quickly by councils such as Essex.

And he stressed that the sooner a decision was reached in Hertfordshire, the better it would be for staff retention.

“The earlier we can reach a decision on what that looks like for Hertfordshire will be to the benefit of retaining our workforce,” he said.

“Because you mention Essex, who of course is on the priority list. So they will be doing things at an earlier stage and therefore people will potentially see, ‘well is that more secure there?'”

The county council operates a range of services that include children’s services, adult services, highways, public health, trading standards and the fire and rescue service.

During the meeting councillors heard the council has a total workforce of around 8600 people – and an annual pay bill of around £380m.

It was reported at the meeting that in 2024/5 there were 1085 employees who joined the council – and 1299 who left, with voluntary turnover recorded at 11.2 per cent.

It was also reported that in 2024/5 almost half of all staff (49 per cent took) took no sickness absence.

The average sickness absence per employee was recorded as 7.5 days. And the average length of service of staff is 7.5 years.

• In the next stage of the local government reorganisation process, the existing 11 councils in Hertfordshire are expected to submit reorganisation proposals for government consideration by November (2025).

An earlier submission as part of the process included proposals for one, two, three or even four unitary councils.

However it is understood the proposal for a single unitary – that had been the preferred option of the previous Conservative county council administration – is no longer being considered.