UNITARY status has helped Dorset to cope better with the coronavirus pandemic – according to senior councillors.

Chalk Valleys councillor Jill Haynes says her experience has been that where two-tier councils (county and district) exists it has been far more difficult to co-ordinate a response to the pandemic.

“It’s been very good, and timely, that we have actually got ourselves one council across the area,” she said.

Her comments have been echoed by council leader Cllr Spencer Flower who said he had spoken to a number of council leaders from across the country.

“Those that are unitary are in a much better place than those that are two-tier. I’m not saying the two-tier councils aren’t getting there, they are, but I think we have been in a far stronger place, both in terms of how we have responded to the emergency and the resilience which has gone with it, so a lot of praise to everyone who has been involved in that.”

Ms Haynes, who chairs one of the council’s scrutiny committee, says that while the council has received a lot of compliments for its actions it has also received some complaints, with the positive points being noted in detail in a council report, but not the negative.

“I would have been interested to know at least the themes for those complaints, which may well be something we need to look at in scrutiny (committee),”she said.

Cllr Haynes said that the council area had also benefitted from being part of an integrated health care system, one of only a few in the country.

Dorset Council came into being just over a year ago as a unitary council - replacing the previous borough and district councils in rural Dorset. At the same time a unitary council was also created for the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole area.

There has been criticism of the set up costs and disruption of the move but removing duplicate jobs has saved both authorities millions of pounds in ongoing salaries - although, in most cases, the initial cost of the redundancies take up to two years to see any financial benefit.

Ironically both authorities may now have to face a further restructure of services and the way they operate as the country's lockdown is eased and the nation prepares for new ways of working.