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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on requirements for consulting with all councils that have (a) accepted and (b) rejected proposals on unitarisation; and what steps his Department has taken to encourage reconciliation in such cases.

We have issued no such guidance; how councils prepare proposals for reorganisation and the arrangements they have for collaboration and joint working is a matter for them.