Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on establishing (a) shadow unitary councils and (b) preparing councils when undertaking local government restructuring.

My officials are in regular contact with councils to support them to undertake preparatory work to ensure readiness for any transition to new authorities.

Once a decision is taken on which proposals, if any, to implement, the Structural Changes Order will specify the governance arrangements for the new unitary councils in the transition period. Representations will be sought from the councils on the detailed content of the Structural Changes Order including on whether a shadow unitary council or preparing council is appropriate.

For all areas except Surrey, we anticipate elections to new authorities will take place in 2027, with those authorities going live in 2028.