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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the cost to the public purse has been of her Department's proposed Local government reorganisation policy since its inception.

The Government provided a total of £7.6m in 25/26 to support the 21 areas undergoing local government reorganisation to develop proposals.

£63 million in capacity funding has been announced for all areas covered by the review. £2.1m has been paid to Surrey, where new councils will take on responsibilities from April 2027. Initial payments to all other invitation areas have been guaranteed and will be made in the coming weeks.