Local government unitary reorganisation will slash the number of councillors and deter many from standing for election, a report for the District Councils’ Network (DCN) has warned.
The report said England already had ‘far too few’ councillors.
It read: ‘The current devolution debate, linked as it has become to local government unitary reorganisation, will, if reorganisation occurs, inevitably result in fewer councils and fewer councillors.
'As a result, greater workloads and demands will be placed on the remaining body of councillors.
'Increasing the time demands will deter many from standing for election in local government.’
DCN chairman, Cllr John Fuller, said: ‘We need to acknowledge that the reforms to local government currently being debated will reduce the number of councillors, weakening that connection [to localities], and reducing that local responsiveness into every household, every street and every business.’
