Calls for an independent study into scrapping the council system in Buckinghamshire has been branded “disappointing” by top politicians.

A Bucks County Council report proposed an “outline business case” to be prepared which would look at the benefits of a new local government model, exploring the option of a single unitary council for Bucks.

Leaders at Chiltern District Council and South Bucks District Council, cllrs Isobel Darby and Ralph Bagge respectively, said while they were willing to look at alternative structures, they were “mindful of the limitations”.

They also said it was “clear” that newer models such as combined authorities would “offer potentially the same savings” without the “cost and disruption to services” which could arise from replacing the existing structure.

They said: “We think the debate would be better focused on wider reform across the public sector in Buckinghamshire.”

Buckinghamshire is currently a two-tier local authority area. This means some services are the responsibility of Bucks County Council such as social care, highways and education, and others are delivered by the four district councils (Wycombe District Council, Chiltern District Council, South Bucks District Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council) such as housing, planning, leisure and refuse collection.

In addition, 168 town and parish councils also work at local government level, with some of the larger town and parish councils undertaking responsibilities such as street lighting, grass cutting, managing allotments, commons, village halls, war memorials and markets.

Each council has its own elected councillors, senior management team, staff and offices.

Both district council chiefs added: “Any restructure would be costly and disruptive. It is unlikely to be the financial panacea it’s being represented as and neither would it necessarily protect or improve those services, or best deal with the local issues our residents tell us matter most to them.”

Bucks County Council leader Martin Tett said: “We welcome the view from Chiltern District Council and South Bucks District Council that new governance models should be looked at for Buckinghamshire.

“There is an urgent need to make substantial savings, improve services and simplify ‘who does what’ for residents and businesses. We would be interested to hear more about their proposal for a ‘Combined Authority’ and how this could result in real improvements to public services.

“We already know from other areas of the country that a combined authority could actually result in more tiers of local government whilst not reducing costs.

“Such a proposition would clearly need to be tested to ensure that it does not create a more complex model that avoids the real need for change.”