Last week, the government pulled Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, after updated legal advice.
Decisions for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, and West Sussex are also within this review despite no decisions having been made across these areas.
Alongside the review, local elections for May 2027 will go ahead within existing council boundaries.
For the affected authorities, the instruction given is to cease work upon implementing the decisions, however this doesn’t necessarily mean all work surrounding LGR should cease, and councils are encouraged to undertake assessment upon areas such as expenditure.
Comments
Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for housing, communities and local government, said:
“As we are now determined more than ever to devolve power closer to the people we represent, it’s only right that as the new Secretary of State I make sure that everything we do is working towards that plan to change Britain.
“The Prime Minister told the House last week, he was ‘prepared to look at local government reorganisation’ and he asked me as his Communities Secretary to ’do that’.
“In that context, in light of legal advice, I want to satisfy myself firstly that the right process is in place, that it is robust, and of course complies with the law. And secondly, I want to fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and the new Prime Minister and any additional considerations.
“I do not take this lightly. I recognise the huge amount of work that has already gone into progressing reorganisation in each of these areas, and I am very grateful for it.”
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