Local Government Reorganisation

Summary: Getting rid of two-tier systems (county, district and borough councils), so that there’s just one council for each area, not two. They are called unitary authorities. 

Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. In the context of the English Devolution White Paper, the Government have set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. 

Summary: These are single councils that run all local services in an area, and they can cover a whole county, part of one, or a big town or city. 

Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, Cornwall Council, Nottingham City Council and Reading Borough Council are all unitary councils. Large urban areas may have a unique form of unitary authorities called metropolitan councils, such as Oldham or Doncaster. London boroughs are also unitary authorities. Source: LGA Devolution and LGR Hub FAQs

This survey has been commissioned by 12 out of the 15 councils in the area, which are working together to propose an option that works for everyone. 

Hampshire County Council is also working with East Hampshire District Council to develop their own options, and they will be asking residents for feedback on their proposals separately. 

Not all the councils share the same views on how the future of local services should be shaped. With 12 out of 15 working together on the current proposals, this captures a big range of voices and opinions. 

No – while some changes may be made to how some services are managed or delivered, the aim of local government reorganisation is to make them more efficient and easier to access.

Summary: Hampshire and the Solent must send their proposals to MHCLG by September 2025. Shadow councils will be elected in May 2027, and the new councils will go live in 2028. 

There are different timelines for areas depending on when their proposals are due, when decisions are taken, and it will also be dependent on the complexity of delivering the new unitaries. 

Hampshire and the Solent is part of the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP), which means its proposals are due by September 2025. Other areas have until November 2025. DPP areas are then working towards mayoral elections in 2026 alongside other scheduled local elections, and holding shadow unitary elections in May 2027 and new unitary councils going live in 2028. 

On devolution, for areas not on the DPP, MHCLG will work with and support areas to access devolution in the future.Source: LGA Devolution and LGR Hub FAQs

As outlined by UK Parliament, "white papers are policy documents produced by the Government that set out their proposals for future legislation". Source: LGA Devolution and LGR Hub FAQs

“English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth” (16th December 2024)

For a more detailed look into LGR, stions visit the Local Government Association Devolution and LGR Hub here: https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/devolution/devolution-and-lg-reorganisation-hub