In reply to Andy Martin's column on Saturday, Dorset's council leaders outline their position on proposals to restructure the county's local authorities and the current public consultation surrounding the issue.

Andy Martin is right in his view (View from the Hill Sat 3 Sept) that something has to change if we are to meet the seismic local government funding challenge looming.

It is why a fundamental review of local government is now needed in Dorset and why the identified options will protect services, maintain our local identities and deliver increased economic performance.

Councils play a part in all our daily lives from looking after the vulnerable, managing our parks and open spaces and maintaining our roads together with delivering many hundreds of other services. Therefore, we encourage everyone to have their say in such an important matter.

The ‘Reshaping your Councils’ Consultation which is now live has been a truly collaborative venture between the nine councils in Dorset.

It adheres to Government guidance on consultation specified in the ‘Gunning Principles’, which states consultation should take place when proposals are still at a formative stage, giving sufficient information to give ‘intelligent consideration’, with adequate time for consideration and response, and that the results of the consultation must be consciously taken into account.

All nine Dorset council leaders are committed to these principles and to listening to the public before a decision is made.

There have been calls for a referendum on the future of councils in Dorset, but the purpose of the consultation is not to seek a simple yes / no response to the proposals.

There are a number of options, each with complex features and implications for individual councils, local services and council tax bills and of course there may be alternative options aired. It is important we understand the public’s views on these options – their concerns and the things they support – before any decision is taken to make a recommendation to Government.

The results will help inform any decision by councillors to make a recommendation only to the Government as the issue has national implications.

It is the Government which will make the final decision. Therefore, widespread consultation is more effective than a referendum - which would cost some £1.2million to local taxpayers - on the matter.

As a base premise the Consultation must also be independent.

In conjunction with independent consulting experts, ORS, an eight-week consultation period was agreed, in line with the new January 2016 government consultation principles introduced by former Policy Minister and Dorset MP, Oliver Letwin, which give clear guidance on conducting consultations.

We believe this will give Dorset residents time to read the background information and give us their views.

Indeed, more than 1600 responses had already been completed and received by last Friday morning.

We ask respondents ‘To what extent do you agree or disagree that Dorset’s councils should focus on cutting out duplication and reducing administration costs wherever possible?’ because we cannot start out by assuming what people are thinking and how they will respond.

It is helpful for councillors to understand the extent to which there is support for the underlying objective, regardless of whether or not respondents agree or disagree with the specific proposals.

There have been questions why a single pan Dorset authority option has not been included.

Two reasons: A single council for the area the size and diversity of Dorset would have less of a sense of identity than the two-unitary options, and could be less accountable to local residents.

Additionally, the Government itself has indicated that an authority the size of a single unitary of nearly 800,000 residents would be too large to be efficient or effective.

The sample 20,000 households who will directly receive the survey were drawn randomly from an index of all residential addresses for the whole of Dorset.

Each area of Dorset has an equal chance of receiving a questionnaire. The contact sample size takes into account the response rates achieved in previous local authority and police surveys that have been conducted in Dorset – so a response rate of up to 20% (4,000 completed questionnaires) is not unreasonable.

To boost the response rate further, reminders will be sent.

In addition to the household survey, everyone is actively encouraged to take part and can do so through via www.reshapingyourcouncils.uk, roadshows, Area Forums, business group meetings, town and parish council meetings and we will also take written responses and petitions and involve residents’ panels.

Our aim is to give local people the information they need to understand the situation and the options so they can complete the questionnaire in an informed way. We want people to engage so we can listen and we are heartened by the response to date and look forward to receiving many more.

Signed by Council Leaders:

Borough of Poole, Councillor Janet Walton

Bournemouth Council, Councillor John Beesley

Christchurch Council, Councillor Ray Nottage

Dorset County Council, Councillor Robert Gould

East Dorset Council, Councillor Spencer Flower

North Dorset Council, Councillor Graham Carr-Jones

Purbeck Council, Councillor Gary Suttle

West Dorset Council – Councillor Tony Alford