Local government reorganisation is the process of changing the structure, functions and responsibilities of councils.

What are the Government’s plans?

In December, the Government published its English Devolution White Paper, which involves a new programme of local government reorganisation. Underpinning these plans is the aim to move away from the two-tier system of local government, in place across 21 county regions in England, so that all council services in an area are delivered by a unitary council.

The Government also wants to reorganise existing unitary councils where there is ‘evidence of failure’, or where ‘their size or boundaries may be hindering their ability to deliver sustainable and high-quality public services’.

The White Paper says new unitary councils should cover a population of 500,000 or more so that they can ‘achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks’. But it says there may be exceptions if it makes sense for an area.

What are the arguments for local government reorganisation?

The White Paper argues that unitarisation will ‘cut wasteful duplication of bodies’ and create efficiency savings. It cites a 2020 PwC report that says reorganisation (of the then 25 two-tier areas in England) would have a one-off cost of £400m but ‘the potential to realise £2.9bn over five years’.

The policy document argues that by bringing lower and upper tier services together, councils will be better able to create more holistic and preventive services. It says unitary councils will also be easier for other public service providers to work with.

The White Paper says reorganisation will ease workforce pressures, because fewer councils will mean fewer leadership roles, while improving local accountability, as it will be easier for residents to see who is responsible for services and local decisions.

The Government has said it wants to deliver ‘the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England’s regions this century’. It wants to devolve powers to combined authorities, and reducing the number of tiers of local government may make this more straightforward.

What are the arguments against reorganisation?

Larger councils are more remote from communities and so may be less responsive to local concerns. At the same time, the Government’s proposal for councils to represent 500,000 people means larger traditional counties that larger populations of voters may identify with, like Surrey and Kent, may be split into more than one unitary authority.

The District Councils’ Network (DCN) has said it supports the principle of local government reorganisation but has ‘real concerns’ about the plans in the White Paper.

It argues that the 500,000 population figure is ‘arbitrary’ and not supported by evidence. It says such large councils are unlikely to work because they would have a ‘weak link to local places’ and little capability to deliver important place-based services, particularly in the countryside where a single council would represent a vast, sparsely populated area.

It also argues that cutting the number of councillors would not increase democratic accountability, because local politicians covering larger wards would be less able to get to know residents and support them with more complex issues.

The DCN states that creating larger unitary councils ‘is not a panacea for dealing with deep financial problems in the sector’ and may not deliver net savings at the pace the Government hopes. It also argues that a period of organisational upheaval would distract councils from delivering essential services.