Wiltshire Council has been held up as an example of how to achieve a successful transition from a two-tier authority to a unitary authority. Wiltshire Council's chief executive, Keith Robinson, has just returned from a visit to New Zealand after being invited to speak to people from local and central government about the formation of the new council.

Mr Robinson, whose trip was paid for by New Zealand's government, was asked to speak at a conference of the Society of Local Government Managers because the local government in New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, is being reorganised. Mr Robinson was able to speak from his experience about how the reorganisation in Wiltshire was managed.

Mr Robinson, who took a week's annual leave to attend the meeting, met New Zealand's minister for local government and answered questions put to him by delegates. He said: "I stressed the importance of being absolutely clear about the purpose of any big reorganisation and the importance of managing the transition from day one so the public experience no disruption in services."