HALLELUJAH. Local government reorganisation has been paused and the government’s proposals reviewed.

Not the sexiest of subjects, but absolutely fundamental to the services we provide.

This is what we asked government to do, and with a new prime minister, they seem to be listening at last.

There is now an opportunity for local government in Devon to put the best solution forward.

We’ve been highly critical of the original proposals; now we need to find consensus and formulate our plan, not have something imposed on us like it was before.

The onus is on local government in Devon to seize this chance.

The vision should be based around how best to deliver services. We must not lose sight of what local councils actually do; not conflate this with the functions of a more strategic mayor.

Our main statutory services are around vulnerable children and adults, road maintenance and collecting rubbish.

Again, not the most glamorous of activities but crucial to deliver growth. These are the foundations needed to increase productivity and obtain good economic growth.

Failing local government will mean a failing country. As with most things, you need to build from the bottom up; a top-down approach just won’t work.

One of the benefits from the work we have been doing is a much closer, collaborative working relationship between the districts and county.

We were looking towards a convergence of back-office processes. This work needs to continue. It will drive out efficiencies, identify economies of scale and limit duplication.

The aim should be for a single or at least compatible IT and software operating system across the county. How this is achieved and in what timescale is probably one of the biggest challenges, but it will be fundamental to success.

It would allow a single front door for residents to access local council services; the very savings and simplification government had tasked us to achieve.

There should be an audit of each service and an agreement at which level this should be delivered; from high level strategic to a lower level, more place-based solution.

For example, gritting the roads is probably best delivered at a more strategic level. It would be a nonsense if routes were constricted by boundaries and the location of depots.

Planning should be a service delivered at a much more local level; taking advantage of local knowledge.

Over time, as senior officers move or retire, councils can move to a more shared services model like South Hams and West Devon where one officer team supports the two councils.

Let service contracts run their course, allowing aggregation where necessary. As it stood, the implementation costs of the government proposals, and at the speed required, would have cost around £80 million.

By doing things in a more managed and timely manner, the expense of broken contracts, redundancies and external consultancies will be saved.

And all these changes can be achieved while each council maintains their sovereignty. No community will lose their democratic representation while more cost effective services can improve.