LOCAL government across Oxfordshire is being destabilised by renewed talk of the county council being scrapped.

The warning came from the leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Keith Mitchell, who said speculation about the future of County Hall would have an adverse effect on staff.

Mr Mitchell said that Government hints that it might back Oxford City Council's case for new unitary councils was already causing unnecessary worry for county council employees concerned about their futures.

And he feared the simmering issue would damage the working relationship between the city and county councils in key areas such as waste and the regeneration of Oxford's West End.

Mr Mitchell was speaking out for the first time after news that Oxford city is joining forces with councils in Exeter, Norwich and Ipswich to try to convince the Government that they should run all services in their cities.

The four councils are expected to make bids for unitary status in 2009 by the end of the summer.

While the county council is yet to give its formal response, Mr Mitchell made it clear that he did not believe the city was in a fit state to run services like schools and social care.

And this week he criticised the Government for provoking needless uncertainty and confusion about local government and the delivery of council services.

He said: "There seem to be different messages coming out of Government every week. David Miliband, the minister responsible, likes to throw ideas around and see where they land.

"Miliband was here two weeks ago and we are told he is sympathetic to Oxford City Council's case. It is destabilising, to say the least, and worrying for staff. It makes people wonder what their future will be.

"The sooner the Government makes up its mind the better. We have a lot of business and delivery of services to get on with. Our message to Government is 'Let us get on with it.'"

He predicted years of wrangling over council boundaries would have damaging consequences in many areas where the district and county councils work well together. The Tory county council leader said: "If this goes on much longer I can see the joint work undertaken by the city and county slowing down. We are now working well on things like developing waste strategy. It would be a great shame to spend the next two years arguing about council boundaries when we need to be making services better."

Ironically, Mr Mitchell and the city council leader Alex Hollingsworth both attended a meeting this week on the development of the West End, Oxford, which focused on creating new joint offices in Oxpens, that would be shared by the two councils.

The city council's case for a unitary Oxford, with control and multi-million pound budgets being handed to an all-powerful city-based council, will focus on the need for greater accountability. It will also highlight the present confusion over responsibilities in Oxfordshire that bedevils everything from dealing with waste to Oxford's transport strategy.

But Mr Mitchell has moved to cover this vulnerable flank, proposing that county and local district councils should offer a single point of contact for some services, while combining office facilities to avoid waste.

With supporters of unitary councils, wuch as Oxford East MP Andrew Smith, wanting the current two-tier set-up to be replaced by three super councils in Oxfordshire, County Hall will enlist the support of the county's Tory-controlled district councils who will resist major restructuring.