BOURNEMOUTH councillors are the latest to discuss plans for cross-council committees to oversee restructuring.

Members of the authority's special overview and scrutiny panel will meet on Monday to examine the proposal, which would see borough councillors join others from Poole, Dorset County Council and potentially Christchurch council.

The new joint committee's remit would be to investigate the process for merging Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole into a single unitary council should the Future Dorset proposal win approval from the government.

A second committee would cover the wider Dorset area.

A report by Julian Osgathorpe, executive director corporate services, says: "Whatever the future of local government structures in Dorset, this is an opportunity for all councils to work collaboratively and to consider future operating models and approaches to delivering valued public services against a background of declining resources.

"It will also provide a valuable forum for agreeing how to deal with current challenges and consider appropriate vehicles for community involvement in decision-making processes, such as looking at area board type arrangements."

The proposal will then be considered by the council's cabinet on Wednesday.

The meeting takes place at 6pm.