Today, I will update Parliament on the Government’s ambitious plans to introduce legislation which will simplify governance arrangements for local authorities in England and to ensure local communities have the right mechanisms to engage with their council.
In the English Devolution White Paper, the Government committed to bring in consistent and accountable structures across local government by considering which governance models available to local authorities will best support their decision making.
At present there is a complex and opaque system which allows councils to operate one of three governance models: cabinet arrangements with a directly elected council mayor, leader and cabinet, or the committee system. As a result, councils are left with a complicated governance system. This can be confusing to the taxpayer, particularly in the case of the committee system, which can be unclear, duplicative, and wasteful, leading to slower, less efficient decision making.
The Government plan to legislate to abolish the committee system, requiring those councils currently operating this model to transition to the leader and cabinet model (which the vast majority of councils in England already operate). This will simplify the governance system and ensure all councils operate an executive form of governance, providing clarity on responsibility and accountability, and improving efficiency in decision making. This change will provide clearer, more easily understood structures at a local level, improving efficiency and preventing authorities from wasting taxpayer funds on needless changes to systems of governance. The law already allows for and requires overview and scrutiny arrangements to be in place.
The Government recognise there are several directly elected local council mayors currently in place, and we propose to accept the continuation of these 13 legacy directly elected council mayors, while introducing measures to ensure a more consistent approach by not facilitating the creation of new ones. This would also include any councils undergoing local government reorganisation now or the future, where any new unitary would be required to operate on the leader and cabinet model of governance, regardless of whether any constituent part currently has a legacy directly elected council mayor.
There are pre-existing routes for those councils with legacy directly elected local mayors to adopt the leader and cabinet model, depending on the individual circumstances in each area, where they wish to do so.
This will avoid the potential confusion caused by the establishment of new regional mayors for strategic authorities and for councils. Directly elected regional mayors continue to be a prerequisite for significant devolution of powers and funding: it is at this strategic level that the single focal point of leadership for the area and direct electoral accountability is considered to work best. Our ambitious plans for local government reorganisation will build the foundations of better local governance, enabling decisions to be taken more easily at the most effective level of government. Strategic regional mayors will be empowered to drive local growth in the long term, with local authorities tackling big challenges in service delivery lead by a leader and their cabinet.
Taken with our commitment to support frontline councillors to lead positive change in their communities we believe this delivers the right powers in the right places.
Ahead of introducing primary legislation, I intend to make regulations to pause any change processes between governance models, in order to allow time for Parliament to consider the Government’s proposed measures. These regulations will extend the period in which a council must call a referendum to determine if the electorate want to change their council’s governance structure following receipt of a petition.
The regulations will also move the date on which an inaugural election is held following a council resolution or a referendum in favour of a directly elected mayor from May 2026 to May 2027. These changes will prevent taxpayers’ money from being unduly wasted on administrative processes which will ultimately bring no benefit or change, while the future of governance options is being considered by Parliament. We will therefore freeze any changes to local governance structures, allowing Parliament time to consider the measures outlined above and prevent the needless waste of valuable taxpayers’ pounds.
It is important that the Government set out the intended direction clearly. The regulations are of particular relevance to the Plymouth referendum due to be held on 17 July to determine whether to adopt mayoral governance for the council. Should the vote favour introducing a mayor, the inaugural mayoral election would move from May 2026 to May 2027. The extension of this period will allow Parliament time to consider the legislation. If Parliament agrees to the proposed measures being brought forward in primary legislation, the inaugural mayoral election would not take place and the council would continue to operate leader and cabinet governance as the common standard for all councils going forward, with the exception of the legacy directly elected council mayors referred to earlier.
We acknowledge that the path to reform is not without its challenges which some local authorities will need to navigate to ensure successful implementation. Transition management will be crucial, requiring careful planning and execution to ensure a smooth shift from the committee system to the new governance structures, including managing changes in leadership dynamics and administrative processes.
By introducing streamlined, consistent and accountable governance structures, we are paving the way for a more efficient, transparent, and responsive local government system. This will empower local leaders to make the right decisions for their communities, and work with Government to grow an inclusive economy, reform public services, and secure better outcomes for working people.
Every place will benefit from our agenda to push power out of Whitehall and into the hands of local leaders. People will see it in more regular bus services, more affordable housing, or the simple fact of having a local champion with regional influence or a frontline councillor championing their neighbourhoods with the tools they need to get the job done. Taken together these measures will simplify local government and support democratic accountability for local people.
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