A THREAT to scrap county government in Kent has been abandoned by the government.

Ministers had sparked controversy after appearing to float the idea of a radical shake-up of local government that could have affected Kent and other county council areas.

The claimed the existing system was inefficient, confusing for the public and expensive to run.

A leaked letter from former local government minister David Milliband to John Prescott cited Kent as an area where the system of district councils and a county council had produced too many councillors.

That fuelled speculation the government was preparing the ground to scrap county councils and replace them with a new generation of unitary - or ‘do it all’ - councils, possibly by merging districts.

While none of Kent’s existing district councils came out in support of a major re-organisation, some had privately indicated interest in the idea.

But new proposals for local government unveiled recently by the Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly in a White Paper reveal the government has retreated.

Instead, it will focus on measures to strengthen relationships between district and county councils.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter (Con) welcomed the about-turn. He said: "This debate started with David Miliband questioning John Prescott about whether local government restructuring was worth the candle.

"While I welcome the spirit of the White Paper, it is clear now the government believes restructuring is not the answer."

But KCC opposition Labour leader Cllr Mike Eddy regretted what he described as a missed opportunity.

Meanwhile, county council chief executive Peter Gilroy said Kent was leading the way in collaborating.

He said: "I would urge the Government to pay closer attention to Kent, where the county council and 12 district councils have already developed close working ties in delivering services and making savings to re-invest in frontline services.

This has avoided the need for a major reorganisation and associated costs to the council taxpayer."

As part of its proposals, the government has pledged a cull of central government targets, promising to reduce the number of performance indicators - targets designed to assess how well or poorly council services are - from 1,200 to 200.