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 28 May 2025 to Question 52712 on Local Government: Elections, whether the proposed abolition of a council would meet the criteria.

If the Secretary of State decides to implement a council’s proposal for unitary local government, secondary legislation, which will be subject to Parliamentary approval, will be required to abolish existing councils, establish new structures and make transitional arrangements.

Those transitional arrangements, consistent with precedent, would include replacing scheduled local elections with elections for the new councils. Those councils will operate initially as new unitary authorities, before going live the following April.