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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, when she plans to communicate decisions on unitary structures.

On 5^th February 2025 I formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. In this invitation I set out the timelines for the submission of proposals for each area.

Once proposals have been submitted it will be for the government to decide on taking a proposal forward to consult on as required by statute. We will take a phased approach, and expect that Government will take decisions on proposals between summer 2025 and spring 2026, ahead of delivering new unitary authorities in April 2027 and 2028.