Local Government Reorganisation FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about Local Government Reorganisation, devolution and our interim proposal. We have also included some common misconceptions.
Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation
Devolution is a process that aims to transfer more power and decision-making from the highest levels of national government down to local areas.
The current government has made devolution a priority and set out plans to create a new network of Strategic Authorities that will cover the whole of England by 2029. The new authorities will be led by elected mayors and will cover a number of local council areas.
These Strategic Authorities will have populations of at least 1.5million people and responsibilities linked to transport and local infrastructure; skills and employment; housing and strategic planning (not determining planning applications); economic development and regeneration; environment and climate change; health and wellbeing; and public safety.
The Government explained these plans in an English Devolution White Paper, published for the first time on 16 December 2024 and setting out what councils must do.
As part of its plans for devolution, the Government has announced a programme of local government reorganisation that will replace all two-tier county and district councils and small or failing unitaries with new unitary councils that have populations of at least 500,000 people.
These much larger unitary structures would then join together in groups to form Strategic Authorities (those with the elected mayors).
The Government believes that local government reorganisation, together with devolution over a big strategic area, will improve public services and support economic growth.
Leicestershire is a two-tier area as there are seven District and Borough Councils, including Blaby District, and the County Council.
Unless there is a complete reversal of the policy set out in the Government’s Devolution White Paper, there is currently no route by which Blaby District can continue to operate as a council in the future.
As things stand, Blaby District Council will become part of a larger unitary council as a result of devolution and local government reorganisation.
Most new unitary authorities are expected to be in place by 2028.
We cannot opt out. All councils must follow the road map that is mandated in December’s White Paper and ‘no change’ is not an option.
The Government has been clear that it wants all small unitaries and two-tier areas to bring forward proposals for reorganisation. It intends to deliver this process as quickly as possible, including through legislation, where it becomes necessary to ensure progress.
Discussions first started between all Leicestershire District and Borough Councils, Rutland County Council, Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council about how best to enable devolution and shape plans for local government reorganisation.
Leicestershire County Council has since announced that it is unilaterally continuing with its proposal to create a single unitary authority for Leicestershire, without an expansion of the city and without any inclusion of Rutland.
Leicestershire’s District and Borough Councils and Rutland County Council remain committed to working together to develop alternative proposals which will deliver high-quality, efficient and sustainable public services for our shared area. These proposals will set out how any new councils would strike the right balance between size and maintaining a strong local connection to communities.
We want these proposals to be supported by clear evidence and widespread engagement, so we can be confident they will have a positive impact for our residents, businesses and communities.
In a letter sent to Councils on 5 February 2025, the Government explained that it wants interim plans for local government reorganisation by 21 March 2025. These are to be followed by full proposals by 28 November 2025.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has advised councils that March is primarily a checkpoint to get assurance that Councils are working together to develop proposals in line with the Government’s criteria.
March interim plans can describe more than one potential proposal for an area, if there is more than one option under consideration.
Councils undergoing local government reorganisation need to submit an interim plan for their shared area by 21 March 2025. This interim plan can have more than one option and won’t be set in stone. Full proposals must then be submitted by 28 November 2025.
The Government has said it aims to carry out public consultation around proposals for local government reorganisation in early 2026. The Government expects to make its final decision by summer 2026.
The final decision on proposals for local government reorganisation will be taken by the UK Government.
Council Leaders are responsible for holding discussions between different local authority areas, to help produce an interim plan before 21 March 2025 and full proposals by 28 November 2025. These proposals must also be supported by evidence and widespread engagement. It will then be down to the Government to consult.
Other than working together to bring forward plans and proposals for their area, councils will not get a say in the Government’s final decision.
Following guidance set out by the Government, we’ll be carrying out widespread engagement involving local partners and stakeholders, residents, our workforce and businesses to help develop the proposals that must be submitted by 28 November 2025.
We will share more information about this widespread engagement after March.
Once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by statute.
Common Misconceptions
Following guidance set out by the Government, we’ll be carrying out widespread engagement involving local partners and stakeholders, residents, our workforce and businesses to help develop the proposals that must be submitted by 28 November 2025.
We will share more information about this widespread engagement after March.
Once a proposal has been submitted, it will be for the Government to decide on taking a proposal forward and to consult as required by law.
This is incorrect. The Government has been clear that it will decide on taking a proposal forward and then lead any consultation.
This is incorrect. Councils had to submit an interim plan for their area by 21 March 2025. As the first initial deadline was very tight, we carried out some initial engagement with stakeholders who represent a wide range of people, communities and sectors to help shape our interim plans.
A more comprehensive package of public engagement will follow this summer. Government will also carry out a consultation on any final proposal, so there will be ample opportunity for people to get involved.
The North, City, South submission
Here are some frequently asked questions about our interim plan for local government reorganisation which was submitted to government on 21 March 2025.
Information about the Leicester City Council proposal was released on 19 March 2025. We are currently reviewing the proposals. A statement was issued on behalf of the district council and Rutland County Council leader on 20 March about this.
Our interim plan does not contain any proposal to change the city boundary but we accept there will need to be further conversations about this issue.
Council Tax rates will need to be amended in areas with new authorities. It means some rates may go up or down depending on where you live but it is not expected that rates will change significantly for taxpayers.
The current total number of county, City and Borough/District Councillors in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is 384. Under our interim plan, that number would be reduced to 214, with 80 Councillors for each of the proposed new Unitary Councils in the north and south, and the City continuing to have 54.
The Government is driving this agenda to reduce the number of Councils. Our interim plan is the only proposal which will retain a Council close enough to communities to understand them and advocate for them.
Grassroots democracy would be enhanced, and subject to local views, opportunities would be explored to create Town or Parish Councils in key settlements.
There is likely to be a reduction in the number of senior leadership positions. The vast majority of employees will continue to work for a Council.
As the interim plan explains, the savings will be made through a variety of factors including a reduction in the number of senior leadership positions and Councillors, procurement efficiencies from the economies of scale and the potential opportunities for the rationalisation of some assets or properties.
The transition costs are estimated to be around £18.9 million spread over a five-year period. This would cover costs such as external support to manage the transition. This initial cost would be recovered over a period of time as the interim plan sets out it will deliver a saving of £43 million each year.
Whatever Council structures are introduced in the future, Councils will need offices and properties to operate services from.
Under our interim plan we are committed to ensuring Councils have a strong, visible presence in our communities. There could be opportunities to rationalise assets including properties across all existing councils but that would require much further consideration.
These are only interim plans and full plans will be developed in the coming months, following significant and extensive engagement. Decisions like these would likely rest with any newly-created Council.
When looking at Ofsted ratings, the position regarding children’s services is currently mixed across the three services provided by Leicester City Council (Requires Improvement), Rutland County Council (Good) and Leicestershire County Council (Outstanding).
Given the significant imbalance in scale across the three existing social care authorities, whatever future council structures are decided by Government, maintaining the status quo is unlikely and change will need to take place regardless.
The benefits of our interim plan is it provides opportunities to reform and improve provision more consistently across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Our approach would rebalance capacity and demand across all three social care services with opportunities for learning and best practice to be applied to each.
The balanced scale of social care authorities proposed would better facilitate opportunities for prevention and early intervention.
Social care is a place-based service, reliant on strong partnerships with health, education, the voluntary and community sector and market providers – our proposal has partnership and collaboration at its core.
Only one part of social care in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland is rated as outstanding by Ofsted and there are examples of social care services being successfully separated, for example in Cumbria.
The proposal we are putting forward has a number of benefits as outlined above.
Our interim plan sets a clear path to:
- Keep Councils connected and accountable to local communities
- Simplify services for residents, businesses, and partners
- Protect and support the vulnerable and focus on prevention
- Deliver devolution and economic growth
- Boost efficiency, saving nearly £43 million a year
It has been built on a foundation of collaboration, evidence and engagement,
Our interim plan is the only one which would create three balanced unitary Councils, which meets the Government’s criteria.
You can read more on the benefits on our web page.
From the evidence and data gathered and the options considered, our view is that a single county unitary for Leicestershire would be too big, too remote and too cumbersome to respond effectively to the needs of local communities. Other concerns about the proposal include:
- It would weaken the community’s voice by being too remote
- It is highly unbalanced when linked to Leicester in terms of population (775,000 for Leicestershire vs 373,000 for Leicester).
- It is less logically connected to economic drivers outside the county boundary
- It would not deliver devolution. The County Council has indicated its approach would be for local government reorganisation before devolution can be considered. Our plan is capable of securing devolution alongside LGR therefore unlocking the benefits much earlier.
- No meaningful way to deliver at a hyper-local neighbourhood level.
- The single county unitary does not provide a solution for social care across the whole of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as it would retain three imbalanced services. Our proposal retains three social care authorities and rebalances capacity and demand between them, creating an opportunity for the transfer of learning and improvement across the region. They would also operate at a scale which would better enable integration with other services, early intervention and prevention.
- Misses an opportunity for a reset, refresh and reinvigoration of local government in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland
The District and Borough Councils in Leicestershire and Rutland County Council submitted an interim plan to government for new council structures on Friday 21 March. The eight Councils are committed to carrying out further work on the plan over the coming months with a view to submitting a full proposal to Government in November. The partnership between the Leicestershire District and Borough Councils and Rutland County Council remains strong, but given Rutland’s status as a small unitary authority bordering several two-tier areas, it was always possible that it might be included in more than one set of interim plans at this stage in the reorganisation process.
No. The Government has outlined the process and there is no requirement for a referendum.
Yes. The Government asked for interim plans to be submitted by 21 March. We have submitted our plan, and it is expected that the County Council, City Council and other Councils across the country will have submitted their plans to Government. The Government has asked for full plans by November.
Government has said it wants Councils to collaborate and reach a consensus. The seven District and Borough Councils in Leicestershire and Rutland County Council have been working together and have developed an interim plan built on a foundation of collaboration, evidence and engagement. The Government has indicated it anticipates there may be different plans put forward but there is no clear indication how those will be managed by Government. Ultimately it will be a government decision.
Our proposal recommends that devolution and local government reorganisation run concurrently with an Elected Mayor for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland being in place in April 2028. That means new Councils could be in place by 2028. In reality, it will take years to align services as this is incredibly complex.
Residents will be kept informed about any changes to services but there is no plan to reduce services, it will largely be about streamlining them and making them better for residents and communities.
We fully recognise the importance of preserving Rutland County’s historic ceremonial county status.