The UK government has initiated plans to restructure local governance in England by replacing the existing two-tier system of district and county councils with larger unitary authorities. This initiative aims to streamline administrative processes, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency in local service delivery.
As part of this restructuring, the government introduced the English Devolution Bill, which proposes granting more powers to local authorities and creating combined authorities led by directly elected mayors. The bill also outlines the transition from the current two-tier system to single-tier unitary authorities, each serving a population of at least 500,000. 1
These plans have faced criticism from various quarters. Local government leaders have expressed concerns that the reorganisation could be costly, time-consuming, and may not deliver the anticipated financial savings. They argue that such changes might lead to the creation of larger councils, reducing local accountability and imposing significant costs, with estimates reaching £16 million per area. 2
Additionally, the proposed reforms have led to the postponement of local elections in certain areas to accommodate the transition. This delay has been met with criticism from opposition parties, who argue that it deprives citizens of their voting rights and could be perceived as politically motivated. 3
In summary, while the government’s plan to abolish district councils and establish unitary authorities aims to create a more efficient and streamlined local governance structure, it has sparked debate regarding its implementation, potential costs, and impact on local democracy.
Fylde Council LGR question and answer – 03 March 2025
Click here to view the live Q&A on LGR with Fylde Council Leader, Cllr. Karen Buckley
Local Government Association (LGA)
The LGA is the national membership body for local authorities and works on behalf of councils to support, promote and improve local government. Membership comprises 315 of the 317 councils in England and includes district, county, metropolitan and unitary authorities along with London boroughs and the City of London Corporation. The LGA is a politically-led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government. It aims to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils so they are able to deliver local solutions to national problems.
On Local Government Reorganisation they state:
“We remain clear that local government reorganisation should be a matter for councils and local areas to decide. There are differing directions of travel underlining the diverse range of views about devolution and local government reorganisation that exist within the local government sector. The LGA will continue to respect each perspective and each choice equally.” 4
FAQs
Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. In the context of the English Devolution White Paper, the Government have set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. The Government has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local government reorganisation is about how the powers and funding that sit with local government are organised between councils.
There are two ways in which local government reorganisation (LGR) can take place.
The first is instigated by an invitation to make a proposal for unitarisation by the Secretary of State. The procedure for this can be found in sections 1–7 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It is important to note that while invitations may be issued because an area has unanimously agreed to a reorganisation, unanimous agreement is not a precondition. This is the most common path to LGR.
The second way is where authorities in an area are in agreement about their preferred way forward. In that case, under section 15 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, they can make a proposal to the Secretary of State. It is unusual for all authorities to agree and so this provision it not expected to be extensively used.
The Government have indicated that they intend to deliver new unitary authorities included in the Devolution Priority Programme by April 2027 and remaining unitary authorities by April 2028.
Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, Cornwall Council, Nottingham City Council and Reading Borough Council are all unitary councils. Large urban areas may have a unique form of unitary authorities called metropolitan councils, such as Oldham or Doncaster. London boroughs are also unitary authorities.
A combined authority is a legal body set up using national legislation that enables a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take collective decisions across council boundaries. You can find out more about this in the LGA’s publication Combined Authorities: A Plain English Guide.
A mayor is the directly elected leader of a geographical region. Many areas of England already have mayors, including London, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. There are also directly elected mayors covering single unitary councils.
The Government believes that within the context of strategic authorities, mayors should have a unique role which allows them to focus fully on devolved responsibilities. Council leaders are expected to continue to focus on leading their place and delivering vital services.
The English Devolution White Paper outlines how the Government will legislate for a ministerial directive to enable the Government to create strategic authorities in any remaining places where local leaders in that region have not been able to agree how to access devolved powers.
The Government will limit its use of this power to instances when other routes have been exhausted. The Government will ensure that the ministerial directive is used to conclude the process where there is majority support, or the formation is essential in completing the rollout of strategic authorities in England.
Mayoral strategic authorities may request access to a deeper level of devolution, including an integrated settlement to form an established mayoral strategic authority.
The criteria for this includes:
- The mayoral strategic authority (or predecessor mayoral strategic authorities) have been in existence, with a directly elected mayor in place, for at least 18 months at the point of submitting a request to move up to the established mayoral tier and access the integrated settlement;
- The strategic authority has a published Local Assurance Framework in place;
- In the previous 18 months, the strategic authority has not been the subject of a Best Value Notice, a Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG)-commissioned independent review, or a statutory inspection or intervention;
- The strategic authority is not subject to any ongoing (or implementing) recommendations from an externally mandated independent review; and
- There are no material accounting concerns covering the current or previous financial year that relate to the strategic authority’s ability to manage public money.
For Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, the North East, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire, these areas are regarded to having met the Government’s criteria and will receive integrated settlements.
Mayors of strategic authorities that meet these criteria will be able to write to MHCLG to apply to be an established mayoral institution. The Secretary of State will have the power to legally designate mayoral strategic authorities as established mayoral strategic authorities and will always do so when they qualify. This process will require the consent of the strategic authority’s constituent local authorities.
Once designated as an established mayoral strategic authority, it will automatically be conferred with the relevant powers and functions available at that level of the framework by right.
