In December, the government published its Devolution White Paper, proposing the biggest reorganisation of local government since 1974. Existing County and District councils are to be replaced by a smaller number of Unitary Authorities, responsible for all local services, grouped under Strategic Authorities led by directly elected Mayors, based on the model already in places like Manchester. Over time, more powers and funding will be devolved to the new authorities.
As a first step, the minister, Jim McMahon invited all counties and existing unitary authorities to join the Devolution Priority Programme. In those areas, authorities would be expected to work together to produce a business plan for a new structure. Elections for mayors would take place in 2026, and elections to the new unitary authorities probably in 2027.
To allow for the volume of work, and consultation, councils were invited to request postponement of the county council elections due in May 2025.
Legal requirements for cancelling elections mean that decisions had to be made very quickly, and authorities were given until 10 January to state their position. Those decisions have now been made.
Why reorganise?
The current local government structures were created 50 years ago and have been tinkered with over the years. They are now, as one Suffolk councillor put it, “a dog’s breakfast of nonsense”.
There are two main problems. The first is confusion and lack of accountability. In most areas, responsibility for services is spilt between county and district councils. Constituents rarely understand who is responsible for what. One council builds houses, but another has to provide places for the schoolchildren who live there. Coordination is time consuming and expensive, and buck passing is always tempting. So a structure where all services are managed by one council is easier to understand, and local councillors can help with everything.
The new structures should also be cheaper to run. Resources are very limited. Local government budgets have been cut by a third in the last 15 years, but have kept all their responsibilities. Councils have limited powers to raise money and some who have tried have effectively gone bankrupt. The new plan means far fewer councillors, officers and offices. In the East of England there might be 15 chief executives in place of 51. And existing resources might be better deployed: in a recent survey, 90% of councils said they had skills gaps among their senior staff.
Support in the East
In our region, the White Paper response has been remarkable. Over Christmas, in only 12 working days, councils managed to call emergency meetings. Even more remarkably given the political composition of many councils, they have all supported the government’s plans, effectively signing their own death warrants.
Lengthy debates were held in Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and Central Bedfordshire. Most councillors supported the idea of reform, and supporters of the bids for priority status argued for the simplicity and potential efficiency of the new plans. Many recognised that a government with a clear mandate and a large parliamentary majority would impose this anyway. As the Norfolk leader said: “we don’t have a lot of choice, if you want the deal you have to postpone the elections.” The general view was better to be in at the beginning helping to shape what happens, rather than letting others develop a model which might then be imposed on the laggards.
Concerns
The leader of Norfolk County Council spoke for many of her Conservative colleagues when she said that she was “extremely reluctant to trust this government”, not convinced of the government’s good faith when it claims that plans will be developed in collaboration between existing authorities and central government. Many felt the process had been too rushed, with inadequate time for consultation with the district councils. Many wanted to know how constituents would be informed and consulted.
Some, especially Greens, Liberal Democrats and Independents, argued that far from devolving power, the new structure with larger authorities would take government further away from constituents and make it easier for central government to dictate. They also argued that postponing the May elections was a device to keep existing councillors in post at a time when the political tide is turning against them. There was concern about the potential powers of directly elected mayors.
There was a practical concern that the process would divert staff and resources from the delivery of existing services and lead to an early exit of experienced senior staff. There were financial issues, especially in Essex, where there was a fear that the new authorities would inherit the debts of their predecessors, especially from bankrupt Thurrock.
Decisions
County councils in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex all have clear Conservative majorities, and in all cases their party position was in favour of bidding for priority status, and postponing May’s elections. With support from Labour, the results were a foregone conclusion.
Norfolk and Suffolk have agreed to propose a single Strategic Authority, with perhaps up to five Unitaries, which might cross current county boundaries.
Essex, which is one of the largest counties in England, proposes an Essex strategic authority, with perhaps five Unitaries, extending the boundaries of the two existing Unitaries in Southend and Thurrock.
Central Bedfordshire, the smallest of our counties in the east of England region, agreed to go ahead, rather more cautiously given their size, complex politics and nearness to potentially predatory large neighbours.
Cambridgeshire, where there is already a combined authority for Cambridge and Peterborough, is the sole exception, and plans to go ahead with the May elections.
Next steps
The government will now decide which of the bids for priority status should go ahead. It looks as if there will be a lot of bids, and there may be limits to the government’s capacity to handle them all. Authorities hope for a response on the postponement of elections this month, although the legislation may take another month to formalise that. The government is also expected to undertake formal public consultation.
This week’s decisions are only on the principle and there is much still to debate and negotiate. This is only the beginning of the first major change for 50 years, which will still be in progress when the next general election comes.
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