DURHAM County councillors were due this Thursday to approve proposals for a new style council providing all local services.

If the North-East gets a regional assembly one tier of the county's local government - either the county or the seven districts - will be scrapped.

And the Labour-run county council, which provides major services such as education and social services, believes one county-wide authority is the best option.

The cabinet is expected to endorse a submission outlining its case, which will be considered by the Boundary Commission.

The commission will make draft recommendations in December, which will be put out for consultation, before it makes its final recommendations in May. The district councils want to see three or four unitary authorities in the county.

The county says one authority would minimise the costs of local government reorganisation.

The county already delivers 86 per cent of local government services in County Durham. Transferring district council functions and staff to one new county-wide unitary authority 'is by far the cheapest option,' it says.

The council estimates it would cost two and a half times more to create three unitary councils than a single authority.

One authority would offer considerable economies of scale - there would be one chief executive, one education department with one director, one director of social services and social services department, one housing department and one headquarters.

The county authority would be 'able to punch its weight within the region' in the competition for jobs and investment.

It would give town and parish councils more say in important policy decisions.

Council leader Ken Manton said the arguments for a county-wide 'are even more valid today' than when a local government shake-up was considered ten years ago.

Independent councillor for Weardale John Shuttleworth said: "A county authority will benefit people. It is a good thing.''