Local government has been active all summer long, working to meet looming devolution and reorganisation proposal deadlines.
Since we, at Polimapper, released our guide on all things local government reorganisation (LGR) back in May, much has happened. Councils have kept busy analysing and responding to the first set of feedback from the government alongside gathering opinions from local residents.
Meanwhile, Angela Rayner’s resignation sparked uncertainty over LGR, and the government’s promised savings have come under scrutiny following a new analysis by the County Council Network.
Financial doubts and government reshuffle
As the parliament summer recess comes to an end, the Labour government has been forced to make quick decisions on reorganisation. At the end of August 2025, a BBC report showed that the government failed to conduct a cost review of council mergers, instead basing claims of significant savings on a 2020 report by the County Council Network (CCN).
While it’s still possible for reorganisation to save billions, a more recent CCN analysis reveals that a different approach could end up costing taxpayers over £850 million. If each one of the 21 two-tier county areas is replaced with a single unitary, big savings over five years can still be unlocked. Otherwise, LGR risks not saving any money at all.
This came just a few days before Angela Rayner, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, resigned from her post, and was replaced by Steve Reed, strengthening doubts over what is to come for reorganisation this Autumn.
Government feedback: Criteria for successful proposals
The main developments in local government reorganisation over the summer are, for the most part, a response to government feedback provided in June 2025.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote that the priority for the current phase of review was supporting areas in building a shared evidence base that could underpin the development of final proposals. Evidence is something that the government touches on throughout both the summary paper and localised feedback reports.
The criteria requires councils to demonstrate collaboration in reaching a consensus on a pathway that reflects local needs and incorporates community views. The criteria in the feedback report includes:
- Any proposals should seek to achieve the establishment of a single tier of local government.
- Unitary local government must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks
- Unitaries must prioritise the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services
- Proposals need to show efforts of cooperation between councils
- New structures must support devolution arrangements
- Community engagement is essential to delivering genuine opportunity for neighbourhood empowerment.
The government reiterates that the population size of 500,000 or more is a guiding principle, not a target, showing flexibility on a case-by-case basis; the proposals should cover the whole of each area; and further consultation is necessary to understand public opinion.
The report also mentioned the spring spending review as an opportunity for reforming local government finance. The review, unveiled at the end of June, states that the government will provide an additional £3.4 billion of grant funding per year by 2028/29 to councils, compared to 2024/25.
The report concluded: “Local government has proven its adaptability and resilience – our job is to support the sector to establish new authorities that can continue to evolve and develop with their communities.”
Developments by region
Alongside the general feedback, each area slated for local government reorganisation has received tailored inputs and encountered different challenges and opportunities. The following section outlines the developments in each area over the summer:
📍East Midlands
In the East Midlands, a majority of councils spent their summer consulting local populations on LGR. Whilst Derby and Derbyshire opened a consultation on its ‘One Derbyshire, two councils’ proposal, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire requested wider views from local communities. A survey was also opened in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, despite the Melton Borough council leader claiming that they do not view the current system as broken.
In Lincoln, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire the divide is greater. Despite the county council’s decisive position in support of reorganisation, North East Lincolnshire council is seeking to maintain its current boundaries and plans to put forward this case with the support of residents via a consultation process that opened at the end of August.
In the region, the government has emphasised that effective collaboration is crucial among all councils and within the wider East Midlands Combined County Authority.
📍East of England
In the East of England there was greater consensus. Highlights include: Greater Essex has passed the legal tests for devolution, confirming the steps towards Mayoral Combined County Authority can proceed; Norfolk County council has confirmed that its preference of a single unitary authority is the preferred option for final submissions; and Suffolk opened a consultation during the summer.
Hertfordshire engaged with strategic partners, including the NHS, police forces, education leaders, major employers, town and parish councils and voluntary and community sector groups.
The government is assessing its specific approach to the treatment of Thurrock’s debt, given the significant unsupported costs held by the council. This way, it urges councils in the area to provide further detail on how the ability to manage debt compares across proposals.
📍North West
The North West region saw less noise around reorganisation. Councils in the area remained silent for most part this summer, although South Ribble council confirmed in July its intention to see four unitaries as a result of reorganisation.
The government has urged councils in Lancashire, Blackburn and Blackpool to work together, after their initial submission showed no clear consensus nor a single proposal had been reached.
📍South East
Councils across the South East spent the summer in disagreements and consultations. The Kent and Medway councils continue to encounter divergences in the number of unitaries proposed, as do councils in Surrey. Meanwhile, local authorities in West Sussex, Oxfordshire and the Isle of Wight opened public engagement surveys.
In other news, Southampton City council, Portsmouth City council, Hampshire County council, and Isle of Wight council are working closely with the government on a legislative framework to establish the new Mayoral County Combined Authority (MCCA) later this year. This comes as Sussex and Brighton are given the go ahead to form a MCCA.
📍South West
The Devon, Torbay and Plymouth area is currently developing a detailed business case, which includes community and stakeholder engagement and is set to last until November. This follows government feedback asking for greater clarity on proposals due to population numbers, lack of multi-council cooperation, and geographical issues.
Gloucestershire also opened a consultation process and launched an interactive page to offer greater insight into reorganisation for public purposes.
📍West Midlands
This summer councils in the West Midlands have too opened consultations on LGR, including Staffordshire County council, Stafford Borough council, Warwickshire County council, and Worcestershire City council.
Across all areas in the region, the government asked for a rationale behind population values in its tailored feedback report. The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent council, in particular, was advised that despite flexibility in population numbers, proposals which do not follow guidelines should be supported with a thorough rationale.
What comes next for local government
While local governments have been hard at work all summer long, the road ahead is far from certain. The process has been complicated by two major developments: financial uncertainty and a political reshuffle.
Despite these challenges, the reorganisation process continues, with councils diligently preparing their final proposals for submission. How these local authorities navigate the final stretch will be crucial. Their ability to deliver on the government’s criteria, particularly cooperation and community engagement, will ultimately determine the future shape of local governance and public services.
Cllr Tim Oliver, chair of the County Councils Network: “While it may be necessary for some areas to create more than one new council, it is absolutely essential that the government scrutinise and rigorously evaluate all proposals against their own statutory criteria, including ensuring new councils are the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks.
“Failure to do so could pile further strain on care services that are already under pressure and at time when many county and district authorities could see their funding reduced as part of the Fair Funding Review.”
“It is ultimately up to local areas to choose which option to pursue considering both the financial implications and other important factors. However, they must do so mindful of the costs and risks involved in the reorganisation process.”