Buckinghamshire CC's leader, Cllr Martin Tett, has said the county is unlikely to pursue a voluntary path to unitary status, despite ministerial support for the idea.

Cllr Tett said that he personally backed the idea of a county unitary, but that in the short-term the authority was more likely to intensify its shared service agenda and other forms of joint working with neighbouring authorities.

His clarification followed claims by the Coalition's attorney general, Buckinghamshire-based MP Dominic Grieve, that the county should consider a voluntary move to a unitary model.

Mr Grieve said the move should not be forced on authorities in the area and should only happen if the local councils supported it as part of the government's savings drive. The savings that could follow a shift to unitary status locally have been estimated at £35m a year.

‘I'm a great believer in local government being able to find its own solutions. Even if the solution put forward by local government was that they wanted a unitary authority, then my view is that I would hope my colleagues in the DCLG would give it very serious consideration,' Mr Grieve said.

Cllr Tett told The MJ: ‘Personally, I have always supported the concept of a unitary council for Buckinghamshire but I have been very conscious that this must be by agreement, rather than diktat.

‘I would certainly welcome any options which both save money and improve services to our residents. At present, we are looking at options to work far more closely with our neighbouring county councils to deliver big savings.'

Senior DCLG sources have previously hinted they would support voluntary moves towards unitary status, but were not minded to force reorganisation upon the sector.