Freedom of Information requests have exposed an ‘alarming’ lack of evidence to support the creation of mega councils, according to the District Councils’ Network (DCN).
The DCN said the Government was only able to cite an ‘out of date’ PWC report from 2020, commissioned by the County Councils Network, to support its request that new unitary councils represent 500,000 residents.
The Government has commissioned no independent research and conducted no analysis of its own, the DCN said.
The network also found there had been no assessment of the upfront costs of creating new unitary councils in Somerset, Cumbria and North Yorkshire in 2023.
DCN chairman Sam Chapman-Allen said: ‘It is alarming that there is so little evidence to justify the Government’s requirement for all county areas to reorganise into mega councils with more than half a million people.
‘The lack of evidence is all the more reason for the Government to give all local areas the time, flexibility and support to develop reorganisation proposals that will cater for local circumstances, reflect local identity and preserve the close link to place that is essential for driving growth.’
He argued that the Government should accept proposals for new unitary councils serving 350,000 or fewer residents.
