England delays nine of 14 planned council mergers again
The UK government says council mergers in England will go ahead in only five of 14 areas, with nine decisions withdrawn for further review. The opposition has called the process a farce.
The UK government has put back nine more of its 14 planned council mergers in England, leaving only five to proceed. The reform aims to combine smaller councils into larger unitary authorities, which run all local services in an area. Local Government Minister Jim McMahon announced the change to MPs in the House of Commons.
What has changed
Plans for the 14 areas were paused last month by Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner amid concerns about possible legal challenges. McMahon said the review found the government's decision-making to be robust, but that it wants legal clarity in nine areas.
Mergers will continue in East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire after a further three weeks of consultation. Decisions announced in July have been withdrawn for Derbyshire, Devon, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire. The minister stressed that this does not reflect on the work behind those proposals.
The review will now cover those nine areas and four where plans were withdrawn in September: Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Cambridgeshire and West Sussex are still awaiting agreed merger plans, so 15 areas in total remain undecided.
Timetable
McMahon promised to update the Commons on another set of areas by Christmas, with every area receiving an outcome by early next year. Local elections in May 2027 will go ahead on existing council boundaries, while elections to shadow councils, which will run for a year before replacing the old authorities, move to May 2028.
Reactions
Shadow local government secretary Katie Lam called the process a farce and said the reorganisation had been beset by delays over two and a half years. She said taxpayers had been left to cover a bill running into tens of millions of pounds.
Local Government Association chair Eamonn O'Brien said the announcement gives certainty to some areas, but many councils remain frustrated. He called for urgent clarity on next steps and on how costs already incurred will be met.
