The Green group at Suffolk County Council, who form the official opposition at Endeavour House, have expressed their alarm at recent reports that the Reform UK administration of the council is considering selling off assets so they cannot be passed on to unitary councils established during Local Government Reorganisation in Suffolk.
Yesterday on its website, the Local Government Chronicle reported that they had received a secret recording of a closed Reform UK meeting at the Local Government Association in July where Michael Hadwen, the Leader of Suffolk County Council, allegedly stated that the council was considering selling off its wholly owned companies to prevent passing them down to the unitary councils due to be set up in Suffolk from April 2028.
The Reform leadership at the council has issued a legal challenge to the government over the plans and has stated that it believes the new unitary councils would not be financially viable.
The LGC reported Michael Hadwen as saying “We have no interest in handing down anything to the new unitaries, except what we statutorily have to give them,” with a councillor from Kent County Council, also run by Reform UK, warning Hadwen to consider “financial regulations” and the possibility councils would be “criticised for a fire sale and selling the family silver, and also potentially posing problems for the future unitaries.”
Suffolk County Council has three wholly owned companies, Concertus, Vertas and Opus People Solutions, which operate under the trading name ‘Vertas Group’ and provide financial dividends to the council each year dependent on their profits. For example, Opus People Solutions provides recruitment services. The companies are therefore a valuable asset for the council, giving it income that is independent of government funding and not dependant in raising taxes locally.
Divesting these companies before the new unitary councils are set up in Suffolk would deliberately deprive the new councils of these financial resources and opportunities.
Andrew Stringer, Leader of the Green group, said:
“If these reports are true, we consider that Michael Hadwen and the Reform administration are not fit to run this council. This approach would be very immature and short-sighted.
The other councils in Suffolk will be putting resources into the reorganisation process in good faith.
This is because it is in the best interests of Suffolk residents for the unitary councils to be on as strong a footing as possible in April 2028. Many people rely on council services – even those who are fortunate enough not to need social care services or to rely on the council for SEND support are using Suffolk’s roads, their household waste is processed at council sites, they walk on pavements maintained by councils, visit our libraries.
Reform UK at Suffolk County Council have said that they believe the new unitary councils will collapse financially. That is their opinion.
However, it is very different to deliberately conspire to bring about the future downfall of the new councils financially in advance. This approach would actively harm Suffolk and the people who live here.
If the reporting is correct, it sounds like Reform are yet again considering how they can antagonise the government and frustrate their plans for council reorganisation, without giving much thought to the negative impact that would have on the people they have a duty to represent.”
