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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 13 June 2025, to Question 58058, on Local Government Pension Scheme, and of 12 February 2026, to Question 111138, on Local Government: Redundancy Pay, whether any changes are being made to the Local Government Pension Scheme to reduce the cost of pension strain following unitary local government restructuring; and whether this department has made a wider estimate of the likely cost of unitary restructuring on council exit payments in 2026-27 onwards.

Council staff are expected to transfer to new unitary councils. The cost of any exit payments made by a council offered as part of a voluntary exit scheme or resulting from any compulsory redundancies implemented by a new unitary council, including payments under the Local Government Pension Scheme, will depend on local workforce decisions and the composition of the workforce. The Government cannot predetermine or form a view on the outcome of local decisions on the operational and staffing structure of new unitary councils, including the outcome of any consultation with affected staff and their representatives. Councils should work with relevant administering authorities on any implications for the Local Government Pension Scheme and it is for all councils concerned to determine their own policies on exit payments.