The government's review of local government reorganisation plans must lead to a significant shift in policy direction or risk creating councils that are more expensive and less sustainable than the current system, the County Councils Network has warned.
Following the government's decision to pause its reorganisation programme across 20 county areas and undertake a review, the CCN has welcomed the move but urged ministers to use the opportunity to rebuild trust and confidence in the process.
In a letter to Local Government Minister Jim McMahon, the network raised concerns over how previous decisions were reached and called for a more transparent and evidence-led approach moving forward.
The concerns stem from decisions made earlier in the programme that would have resulted in the creation of 51 new councils through extensive boundary changes and the fragmentation of key public services, including adult and children's social care. According to the CCN, many county councils believed the proposals would increase costs for taxpayers while disrupting services relied upon by vulnerable residents.
The network argues that several of the proposed changes departed from the government's original criteria for local government reorganisation. Those criteria included creating councils serving populations of more than 500,000 people and avoiding the unnecessary splitting of essential services.
Recent reports have also revealed that ministers in the previous administration rejected official advice in some areas, including Essex and Suffolk, opting to support plans for multiple unitary councils despite concerns from Whitehall officials about long-term financial sustainability and the potential impact on social care provision.
As a result, the CCN has repeatedly called for the programme to be reassessed. With the review now underway, CCN Chair-Elect Cllr Sean Matthews has outlined what county councils believe should happen next.
He stressed that the review must be meaningful and followed by tangible policy changes.
The CCN is urging the government to return to the original objectives of the reorganisation programme and provide councils with clarity on future timescales and funding arrangements.
The network is also seeking assurances that councils will be fully reimbursed for all costs incurred as a result of the programme, both now and in future phases of implementation.
Cllr Sean Matthews said:
"While we recognise some of our members will have different views on the desirability of reorganisation moving forward, if it is to proceed, we need to ensure that the programme is delivered in a way that is consistent with the principles and criteria originally developed in partnership between ministers and local government.
“….The review should seek to realign the programme with (the original) criteria rather than revise them. This includes the population threshold of 500,000 or more, avoiding unnecessary and disruptive disaggregation and boundary change, and ensuring financial viability…..
“Unless this review results in a material change in direction, we will continue to face the prospect of large-scale fragmentation and complex boundary change that will create a pattern of reform that is more costly, less stable and less effective than the current two-tier system. This will ultimately undermine the government’s reform and devolution objectives.”
Matthews added that the review should help restore confidence among councils considering reorganisation.
The network has outlined four priorities it believes should shape the government's reassessment of the programme:
- Reaffirm the existing statutory criteria for local government reorganisation and apply them consistently and transparently across all decisions.
- Conduct a transparent, evidence-based reassessment of previous decisions and the ministerial advice that informed them, ensuring the process is legally robust and compliant rather than reopening the process for alternative proposals that fall outside the agreed criteria.
- Review implementation timescales and phasing to reflect the complexity of reforms, delays already experienced and the capacity of both government and local councils to deliver the changes effectively.
- Fully fund all transition and implementation costs associated with reorganisation.
While some county councils remain opposed to the proposals adopted in their areas, others are eager for reorganisation plans to proceed. The CCN says ministers should provide swift certainty to those areas while continuing to pursue the government's wider devolution agenda.
The review is now being viewed by many councils as a crucial opportunity to reshape a programme that has become increasingly controversial and ensure any future reforms deliver long-term financial stability, stronger local services and greater public confidence.
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