Local government reorganisation paused

The new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has pressed pause on plans to move forward with reorganising local government.

Angela Rayner MP told the House of Commons that previously announced plans to streamline local government would be halted while ministers conducted a review.

She told MPs: “I want to satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law.

“And secondly, I want to fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and the new Prime Minister.”

The process of local government reorganisation, which was announced in December 2024, would have seen areas with two-tier district and county councils moved to a single unitary authority.

Pausing the process means some decisions already taken, including those in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, have been withdrawn.

Plans for 14 other areas, along with Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and West Sussex, have also been paused while the review is carried out.

The decision to launch a review was met with criticism by the Local Government Association, which is the national body for local authorities.

It said: “Councils have invested scarce public money and countless hours in the government’s LGR programme.

“People’s jobs, lives and wider commitments have been affected.

“Staff, councillors and their families cannot be expected to put their lives on hold while ministers undertake a review which is a mess of their own making.”

The decision has also had an impact on ACRE’s joint work with NAVCA on LGR and devolution, which has been paused while we wait to find out the Government’s intentions.

Further updates on the LGR pause, including what the government’s review may mean for ACRE Network members, will be shared as and when decisions and updates are announced.

More information on the LGR work to date can be found at www.navca.org.uk/devolution-lgr.