Councils in Buckinghamshire should consider a voluntary move to a unitary model, the Coalition's attorney general has said.

Dominic Grieve, a Buckinghamshire-based MP, this week revealed he favoured a shift to a unitary local government arrangement for the county, and the abolition of local districts.

However, the MP for Beaconsfield, said the move should not be forced on the county and should only happen if local authorities support 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.'

Communities secretary Eric Pickles has avoided forcing councils to become unitaries since the coalition came to power, but senior DCLG sources have said that they would support voluntary moves towards unitaries. Districts in Buckinghamshire already share many back office services.

But Mr Grieve's preferred plan for Buckinghamshire is unlikely to garner support from local council officers. Martin Tett, Buckinghamshire CC's chief executive has dismissed the idea because he fears the upfront costs of the change would be too high.