THOUSANDS of public sector workers face a further fortnight of uncertainty, after a decision on North-East super-councils was delayed.

A High Court judge last night deferred his verdict on a council's objection to the Government scheme, which would usher in a unitary authority covering all County Durham.

The adjournment came after three days of legal argument and evidence, in which Shropshire's Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council claimed that the Government does not have the power to push through the shake-up - the biggest seen in local government for 30 years.

Before a packed London courtroom, Government lawyers denied the accusation.

James Eadie said Ruth Kelly, the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had acted within "the territory of Government powers".

The Government approved Durham County Council's bid for unitary status in July, despite strong opposition from the county's seven district authorities, which have filed a legal challenge to the decision.

But Mr Eadie said it had been made clear the Government "was not treating the decision as final".

"There is still a considerable amount of work to be done," he said.

Andrew Arden, for Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, accused Ms Kelly of "cherry-picking results in order to determine support and reject opposition".

Mr Eadie responded: "No one is suggesting that the views of the public are irrelevant... but the Secretary of State should focus on the key partners and stakeholders because of the complexities."

Mr Justice Underhill is expected to announce his decision by the end of the month.

About 4,000 workers would be transferred to the new authority, with about 180 jobs lost.

Supporters of the Government plans say unitary authorities would save money and make council services easier to understand.

Opponents say the changes would take power further away from people and be costly to implement.

Earlier this summer, Durham's district councils held an unofficial referendum. On a 40 per cent turnout, 76 per cent rejected the proposals.

The Government has approved plans for a unitary authority for Northumberland but rejected similar plans for North Yorkshire.

Darlington Borough Council is unaffected by the changes.