HANSARDCommons03 Jun 20251 contribution

Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government Re-organisation

The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)
Labour (Co-op)Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton
On 24 March I updated the House on the latest steps on local government reorganisation. This set out the commitment that all areas had shown to reorganising local government in order to achieve sustainable, efficient and streamlined local government for taxpayers. We are shifting power out of Whitehall and delivering strong, sustainable, unitary councils, capable of leading their communities, shaping neighbourhoods and convening local public service providers to improve outcomes for local residents. This is part of the wider project to fix the foundations of local government, and to create a system that is fit, legal and decent, with improvements to audit, finance, standards and structures, complemented by devolution, fair funding and a resetting of the relationship with central Government to gives councils the power they need to get things done.
All 21 two-tier areas produced interim plans with this Government’s commitment to support them, including by giving feedback on interim plans, providing £7.6 million to support the development of final proposals and practical advice and support. I am now updating the House with a summary of the feedback provided to areas, and the proposed allocation and payment of proposal development contributions.
Proposal development contributions
In the statutory guidance I outline my expectation for all local leaders to work collaboratively and proactively by sharing information and data to develop robust and sustainable unitary proposals that benefit the entire area. Ideally, I would like areas to submit their final proposals as a single submission, underpinned by a shared evidence base, that includes all options being put forward by councils.
Consequently, I expect proposal development contributions to support this effort. Each of the 21 areas will receive a flat rate of £135,000, plus an additional 20p per person based on the latest Office for National Statistics population estimates. The allocation is as follows:
Area
Allocation
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
£318,816
Derbyshire and Derby
£350,582
Devon, Plymouth and Torbay
£383,326
East Sussex and Brighton
£302,024
Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock
£514,318
Gloucestershire
£266,855
Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton
£542,174
Hertfordshire
£378,077
Kent and Medway
£514,410
Lancashire, Blackburn and Blackpool
£449,075
Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland
£365,888
Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire
£357,246
Norfolk
£321,389
Nottinghamshire and Nottingham
£369,754
Oxfordshire
£285,046
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent
£367,336
Suffolk
£290,288
Surrey
£380,734
Warwickshire
£258,565
West Sussex
£315,172
Worcestershire
£257,837

Local Government Re-organisation

The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)

Labour (Co-op)Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton

On 24 March I updated the House on the latest steps on local government reorganisation. This set out the commitment that all areas had shown to reorganising local government in order to achieve sustainable, efficient and streamlined local government for taxpayers. We are shifting power out of Whitehall and delivering strong, sustainable, unitary councils, capable of leading their communities, shaping neighbourhoods and convening local public service providers to improve outcomes for local residents. This is part of the wider project to fix the foundations of local government, and to create a system that is fit, legal and decent, with improvements to audit, finance, standards and structures, complemented by devolution, fair funding and a resetting of the relationship with central Government to gives councils the power they need to get things done.

All 21 two-tier areas produced interim plans with this Government’s commitment to support them, including by giving feedback on interim plans, providing £7.6 million to support the development of final proposals and practical advice and support. I am now updating the House with a summary of the feedback provided to areas, and the proposed allocation and payment of proposal development contributions.

Proposal development contributions

In the statutory guidance I outline my expectation for all local leaders to work collaboratively and proactively by sharing information and data to develop robust and sustainable unitary proposals that benefit the entire area. Ideally, I would like areas to submit their final proposals as a single submission, underpinned by a shared evidence base, that includes all options being put forward by councils.

Consequently, I expect proposal development contributions to support this effort. Each of the 21 areas will receive a flat rate of £135,000, plus an additional 20p per person based on the latest Office for National Statistics population estimates. The allocation is as follows:

Area

Allocation

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

£318,816

Derbyshire and Derby

£350,582

Devon, Plymouth and Torbay

£383,326

East Sussex and Brighton

£302,024

Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock

£514,318

Gloucestershire

£266,855

Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton

£542,174

Hertfordshire

£378,077

Kent and Medway

£514,410

Lancashire, Blackburn and Blackpool

£449,075

Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland

£365,888

Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire

£357,246

Norfolk

£321,389

Nottinghamshire and Nottingham

£369,754

Oxfordshire

£285,046

Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent

£367,336

Suffolk

£290,288

Surrey

£380,734

Warwickshire

£258,565

West Sussex

£315,172

Worcestershire

£257,837