Reorganisation decisions made for 14 counties: CCN responds

The government has today announced its decisions to reorganise 14 county areas into new unitary councils.

Below, the County Councils Network responds to the announcements.

Cllr Sean Matthews, Chair-Elect of the County Councils Network, said:

“At the start of the reorganisation agenda, the government set out the main aims of the programme, including creating councils with populations of 500,000 or more to improve local services, achieve savings, withstand any financial headwinds, and avoid the unnecessary fragmentation of care services.

“Today’s decisions show how far ministers have departed from the statutory criteria and programme’s original aims. Whilst larger unitary councils will be created in some areas, most will see city and urban areas carved out and the creation of multiple smaller authorities in others. With unprecedented levels of splitting services and boundary change, this approach will inevitably end up costing local taxpayers more while causing greater fragmentation and upheaval to services for the most vulnerable - with new rural councils potentially most exposed to significant additional costs and service risks.

“The county councils receiving their decisions today will put the interests of their local communities first in deciding their next steps. Some may wish to proceed to implementation. But in other areas they will question the motivations that lay behind the decisions and will pursue answers to whether proposals have been robustly tested against the statutory criteria and if proper consideration has been given to the long-term resilience of the new councils being created.

“The incoming Burnham administration will now have to take ownership of this programme of reorganisation. Newly appointed ministers must genuinely listen to the County Councils Network's (CCN) members who have significant concerns over the proposal chosen and take account of ongoing judicial review proceedings. They should only move to implement proposals if they can demonstrate it will create councils that are financially sustainable, provide solid foundations for a new wave of devolution, and protect local services.

“Crucially, incoming ministers must also determine whether the programme remains deliverable within the existing timescales. Both the CCN and the Local Government Association (LGA), alongside other professional bodies, have raised major concerns over the capacity of the sector to deliver reorganisation given the untested levels of disaggregation and boundary change it now entails, and at time of concurrent reforms across children’s services and SEND.

“If these decisions ultimately proceed to implementation, CCN and its member councils will do all they can to ensure the establishment of safe and legal authorities. But it is now abundantly clear that the government will have no choice but to provide a more significant injection of funding than announced today to ensure many of these new councils are not reliant on Exceptional Financial Support from day one. It will also require a viable workforce strategy, and it remains to be seen whether today’s announcements address the widespread concerns over the recruitment and retention of specialised senior officers across adults and children’s social care.

“The CCN will support its member councils in their next steps, utilising our expertise from several reorganisations over the last decade, officer and member support networks, and our wealth of policy research.”

Reorganisation decisions in West Sussex, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be made in the Autumn, the government also announced today.

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