
CCN Latest News, CCN News 2025 | 05 February 2025
The County Councils Network (CCN) members who have been announced today on the priority programme are Cheshire East, Cumberland, Essex, East Sussex, Hampshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, West Sussex, and Westmorland and Furness. In addition, Surrey is on the local government fast track programme.
Below, the CCN responds to today’s announcement.
Cllr Tim Oliver, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said:
“The government announcement today confirming the next steps in its devolution and local government reorganisation plans is a statement of intent to drive forward reform to the two-tier system and deliver more mayors this Parliament. Given the government’s clear policy direction, most County Councils Network (CCN) members now recognise the need to embrace the benefits of mayoral devolution, while it is also clear that local government reorganisation is necessary to unlock the barriers to more ambitious devolution settlements whilst creating simpler and more efficient council structures that are financially sustainable and recognisable to the public.
“In taking forward several county and unitary authorities for the devolution priority programme and fast track reorganisation, the government is providing an important opportunity for these areas to progress plans to the most ambitious timetable. However, we also recognise that many areas will be disappointed they have not been selected for these programmes, having responded quickly to the government’s tight timescales to progress at an accelerated timescale. Ultimately it is a government decision to delay elections and ministers have set a high bar.
“There is clearly an appetite from many more county and unitary councils to move quickly and deliver devolution this Parliament. The government must continue to work with those county and unitary authorities to develop devolution and reorganisation proposals, with a clear commitment to deliver these as soon as possible.
“In doing so, the statutory invite for local government reorganisation issued today to all two-tier areas provides confirmation of the expectation they must progress interim plans for new unitary councils by March. We strongly welcome this clarity and the new criteria for what credible reorganisation plans should look like, building on the 500,000-population minimum in the Devolution White Paper.”
In addition to the priority programme, legislation also came into force to legally establish mayoral combined authorities for Lincolnshire and East Riding of Yorkshire, and county combined authorities in, Devon and Lancashire.
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