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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate the Department has made of the total expenditure incurred by local authorities in preparing for local government reorganisation prior to the decision to pause those proposals; and whether the Government plans to reimburse councils for those costs.

As set out by the Secretary of State in her oral statement of 7 September, the government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused decisions for the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible. We also recognise that areas will have committed resources to reorganisation and ministers will consider this matter alongside the review.