Key points:
- Creation of unitary authorities of 500,000+ populations.
- New strategic authorities (combined authority mayors) to cover regions.
- Potential postponement of county council elections.
- End of two-tier local government.
Local Government has been a jumble of varying local authorities of varying sizes and responsibilities for some time. The last significant reform was the Local Government Act 1974, which created the two-tier system that we currently have, alongside metropolitan county councils and unitary authorities. There has been some piecemeal reform since 1974, particularly the introduction of some directly elected mayors and combined authority mayors (metro mayors), however, this has been to limited success and has varied across the country.
With the Government publishing its much-anticipated devolution white paper earlier this week, its clear that long overdue changes are on the way. The two-tier system looks set to be abolished, doing away with district councils altogether, and creating unitary authorities with new strategic authorities (don’t let the new name fool you, its combined authorities) that will coordinate more strategic level decisions regarding transport, housing and economic development in regions.
No more District Councils
The County Council’s Network in a report published in 2020 claim that abolishing district councils could save the taxpayer £3billion over five years. There will be basic criteria for the creation of unitary authorities, with each requiring a population of at least 500,000. However, it is likely that most new unitary authorities will follow a similar thread to those that the previous Government had created and mirror county boundaries, such as Somerset Council, Wiltshire Council and Buckinghamshire Council, unless there is clear justification for the creation of a smaller unitary as was the case in Dorset with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. If smaller unitary authorities are created, they will come under the indirect control of a combined authority mayor for the wider region.
Combined authority mayors
Expanding on attempts by the previous Conservative Government, each region will have a combined authority mayor (commonly known as metro mayors). Metro Mayors are more prevalent in the North and Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Midlands, Yorkshire, and will be responsible for the transport and economic strategy for the region – in some cases over more than one unitary authority. Metro Mayors may have control over the allocation of further funding such as adult social care if they oversee more than one unitary authority so that funding can be allocated where it is most needed – East Kent and South East Essex receive the majority of their respective county council’s adult social care funding at the expense of other areas within their counties.
The Government has made it clear that this reform is part of better aligning all key services within regions so that they fit within clearly defined areas rather than the mix that we currently have. In attempting to define the regions, they could take the shape of the current Police boundaries which follow county boundaries with some exceptions where counties are too small, Thames Valley being a prime example.
When will this all happen?
With a consultation due to launch in January, it is clear that the Government wants to move quickly with these reforms. Council’s have been asked to submit proposals by the end of January and if they can be progressed at speed then it is likely that the Government will delay county council elections in those areas by a year, to be held in 2026 for the new authority as opposed to May 2025 for what would eventually be a defunct county council.
What are the implications for the built environment?
- Larger decision-making areas – county-wide unitary authorities will have more concentrated planning committees, rather than the current model with between 8-14 per county. However, a merging of planning teams will not necessarily free up capacity or result in greater efficiency. These reforms will drastically reduce the number of councillors across the country.
- More strategic decision-making – metro mayors have the potential to drive economic growth, a key pillar of the new Government’s growth agenda. The push by successive Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayors for the creation of East West Rail between Cambridge and Oxford and Ben Houchen, Mayor of Tees Valley, purchasing Teesside Airport are examples of the role they can play.
- Housing across boundaries – the abolition of district councils and establishment of unitary authorities could result in a more strategic approach to housing delivery similar to county plans that were in place before Local Plans. It could facilitate the creation of more new towns by eliminating the disincentives district council’s currently have to not cooperate with each other on housing delivery, Oxford City Council trying to move some of its housing allocation onto neighbouring authorities is a prime example.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/london-cityscape-460672/