Find answers to frequently asked questions about local government reorganisation (LGR) and devolution here. We will keep this page updated to ensure you have access to the latest information.
Local government reorganisation (LGR)
Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. In the context of the English Devolution White Paper, the Government have set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. The Government has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local government reorganisation is about how the powers and funding that sit with local government are organised between councils.
There are two ways in which local government reorganisation (LGR) can take place.
The first is instigated by an invitation to make a proposal for unitarisation by the Secretary of State. The procedure for this can be found in sections 1–7 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. It is important to note that while invitations may be issued because an area has unanimously agreed to a reorganisation, unanimous agreement is not a precondition. This is the most common path to LGR.
The second way is where authorities in an area are in agreement about their preferred way forward. In that case, under section 15 of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, they can make a proposal to the Secretary of State. It is unusual for all authorities to agree and so this provision it not expected to be extensively used.
There are different timelines for areas depending on when their proposals are due, when decisions are taken, and it will also be dependent on the complexity of delivering the new unitaries. Surrey councils are working to a shorter timeline than all other LGR areas.
For areas on the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) and all other areas, the most ambitious indicative timeline is based on asking for proposals by September 2025 for DPP areas and by November 2025 for all other areas, then working towards mayoral elections in 2026 for DPP areas alongside other scheduled local elections, and holding shadow unitary elections in May 2027 and new unitary councils going live in 2028.
On devolution, for areas not on the DPP, MHCLG will work with and support areas to access devolution in the future.
Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, Cornwall Council, Nottingham City Council and Reading Borough Council are all unitary councils. Large urban areas may have a unique form of unitary authorities called metropolitan councils, such as Oldham or Doncaster. London boroughs are also unitary authorities.
A combined authority is a legal body set up using national legislation that enables a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take collective decisions across council boundaries. You can find out more about this in the LGA’s publication Combined Authorities: A Plain English Guide.
A mayor is the directly elected leader of a geographical region. Many areas of England already have mayors, including London, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. There are also directly elected mayors covering single unitary councils.
The Government believes that within the context of strategic authorities, mayors should have a unique role which allows them to focus fully on devolved responsibilities. Council leaders are expected to continue to focus on leading their place and delivering vital services.
The English Devolution White Paper outlines how the Government will legislate for a ministerial directive to enable the Government to create strategic authorities in any remaining places where local leaders in that region have not been able to agree how to access devolved powers.
The Government will limit its use of this power to instances when other routes have been exhausted. The Government will ensure that the ministerial directive is used to conclude the process where there is majority support, or the formation is essential in completing the rollout of strategic authorities in England.
Mayoral strategic authorities may request access to a deeper level of devolution, including an integrated settlement to form an established mayoral strategic authority.
The criteria for this includes:
- The mayoral strategic authority (or predecessor mayoral strategic authorities) have been in existence, with a directly elected mayor in place, for at least 18 months at the point of submitting a request to move up to the established mayoral tier and access the integrated settlement;
- The strategic authority has a published Local Assurance Framework in place;
- In the previous 18 months, the strategic authority has not been the subject of a Best Value Notice, a Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG)-commissioned independent review, or a statutory inspection or intervention;
- The strategic authority is not subject to any ongoing (or implementing) recommendations from an externally mandated independent review; and
- There are no material accounting concerns covering the current or previous financial year that relate to the strategic authority’s ability to manage public money.
For Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, the North East, South Yorkshire, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire, these areas are regarded to having met the Government’s criteria and will receive integrated settlements.
Mayors of strategic authorities that meet these criteria will be able to write to MHCLG to apply to be an established mayoral institution. The Secretary of State will have the power to legally designate mayoral strategic authorities as established mayoral strategic authorities and will always do so when they qualify. This process will require the consent of the strategic authority’s constituent local authorities.
Once designated as an established mayoral strategic authority, it will automatically be conferred with the relevant powers and functions available at that level of the framework by right.
How will Surrey be affected?
No, the Surrey County Council elections originally set for May 2025 have been rescheduled to May 2026. This change is part of the government's plan to meet the ambitious timelines for reorganisation and devolution.
By postponing the elections, the focus can shift to the detailed work required for reorganisation. The resources, time, and public funds that would have been used for elections can now be allocated to ensuring the best possible outcome for Surrey's future.
Yes, the county council along with the 11 district and borough councils will be abolished and replaced by new unitary councils.
Elections for the new 'shadow' unitary councils are anticipated to occur in May 2026. The official 'vesting day' is expected in April 2027, when the unitary councils will formally assume control and the existing councils will be dissolved.
Devolution
In England, devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. The government says it ensures that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect.
The English Devolution White Paper is the Government’s statement of their plans to reform local government. This includes a wide range of proposals on devolution but also wider plans for local government reorganisation and changes to local audit. For further information on the specific proposals contained within the White Paper, please refer to the LGA’s on-the-day factual briefing.
The Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) is for areas who wish to move towards devolution at pace. The Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution has also outlined that participants must also have local agreement to move forward around a sensible geographical footprint. The DPP is for areas wishing to pursue establishment of a Mayoral Strategic Authority. This will be with a view to inaugural mayoral elections in May 2026.
The Government have indicated that they intend to hold shadow elections to new unitary authorities in 2026 (for Surrey) and 2027 for remaining areas.
Established mayoral strategic authorities will be eligible to receive an integrated settlement, which will commence at the following Spending Review provided a sufficient preparation period has passed.
As official designation will not be possible until the English Devolution Bill becomes law, those strategic authorities that already meet the Government's status criteria, will receive elements of the framework ahead of designation where practicable.
Strategic authorities are a new, overarching legal category which will be established in the English Devolution Bill. They will not replace existing Combined and Combined County Authorities.
Each CA and CCA will automatically become a Strategic Authority. Strategic authorities will have responsibility for strategy development and programme delivery across specific areas of competence (broad thematic areas of activity) with corresponding functions set out against each of these in a statutory devolution framework. There will be three levels of Strategic Authority, which are:
- Foundation Strategic Authority: Available to those areas without an elected mayor, Foundation Strategic Authorities will have limited devolution. CAs and CCAs will automatically be designated as this, for example, the current Lancashire devolution deal will establish a Foundation Strategic Authority.
- Mayoral Strategic Authority: MCAs and MCCAs will automatically begin as this unless they have been designated as Established. For those with an elected mayor, a range of powers will be devolved.
- Established Mayoral Strategic Authority: For those Mayoral Strategic Authorities who are able to satisfy a number of additional governance requirements. This unlocks access to further devolution, most notably the Integrated Settlement. The GLA and other MSAs such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will be designated as this.
The GLA will become the Strategic Authority for London, and there will be an option for a Single Local Authority, by exception, to be designated as a foundation Strategic Authority as a stepping stone to forming a combined or combined county authority.
The White Paper set out the principles for agreeing geographies for MSAs, and states it may not be possible to meet all the principles in all situations and the government will work with areas to find an optimal outcome. On scale it states:
Scale: Strategic Authorities should be of comparable size to existing institutions. The default assumption is for them to have a combined population of 1.5 million or above, but we accept that in some places, smaller authorities may be necessary.