Archived press release

Date Published: 26/01/07

AVDC’s full council has agreed that it will work closer together with the other councils in Buckinghamshire to deliver more joined up services and achieve efficiencies and savings. The decision supported the motion that all the Buckinghamsh...

AVDC’s full council has agreed that it will work closer together with the other councils in Buckinghamshire to deliver more joined up services and achieve efficiencies and savings.

The decision supported the motion that all the Buckinghamshire authorities seek "pathfinder status" to be amongst the first councils in the country to deliver services in new ways whilst retaining the identities of both the district and county council. 

If the government gives the green light to these proposals all the councils will be committed to reducing management costs, and jointly procuring and providing services.  

Commenting on the decision, Councillor John Cartwright, Leader of the Council, said: “Over the last month or two, we have been working hard to review all the options to make sure that our decision is in the best interests of the people of Aylesbury Vale. We want to deliver better services by working closer with the county council and other partners, whilst strengthening local democracy and accountability. We believe that these new and better ways of working will also contribute significantly to meeting the challenging savings targets set by the government.”

He continued: “The decision to seek pathfinder status is without doubt the most sensible way forward. It avoids the expense and radical change that would be required for re-structuring, but will bring county council and district council services together in a rational, common sense way over a five year period. Most importantly, it will enable AVDC to retain its own democratic processes and ensure that council decisions are based on local need. This was a particularly important consideration for Aylesbury Vale given its unique status within the county as a growth area. We must now wait and see if the government accepts our proposal but I am confident that the case we have put forward meets all the requirements and all the councils can work successfully together. Whatever, the government’s decision, we have already started the important process of joint service delivery and this is a golden opportunity to build on the work so far.”

The government is expected to announce the pathfinder bids that it intends to work with at the end of March.