Local Government: Reorganisation

(asked on 23rd November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of local government reorganisations planned for 2021 on the ability of local government bodies to support their communities during the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Luke Hall Portrait
Luke Hall
Minister of State (Education)
This question was answered on 26th November 2020

Government has invited unitarisation proposals from Cumbria, Somerset and North Yorkshire; councils in these areas have been developing ideas about restructuring local government in their areas for some time, and had requested such invitations. It is right that they should now have the opportunity to make proposals for new unitary councils. If Parliament approves the implementation of any such proposal, it is likely that the new unitary councils would be established from 1 April 2023, and hence most of the implementation work councils will be undertaking will be in 2022/23.

Any reform of an area’s local government is most effectively achieved through locally led proposals, put forward by those who best know the area and who are best placed to assess the benefits, including savings as well as resource and implementation requirements.

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