Require primary legislation & referendum for any council restructure proposal

We believe that democratic control of local government is a core part of our constitution and that people are seeing large “combined authority” and “super-council” deals that move power away from their town halls, sometimes abolishing or merging councils with little scrutiny. We think doing this without proper parliamentary scrutiny and clear local consent is a breach of the trust on which government power is held. There should be a national framework setting clear principles, such as when restructuring can be proposed, minimum consultation and evidence standards, and the requirement for referendums.