Plans for major overhaul of councils halted

Plans for a major shake-up of local government are on hold, after the government launched a review in light of new legal advice. Proposals to merge smaller councils to form larger authorities in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn. Meanwhile, plans for 14 other areas will also be reviewed and paused. Reorganisation in Surrey, where councillors for two new unitary authorities were elected in May, will not be affected . The government confirmed local elections in May 2027 would go ahead on existing council boundaries. Confirming the review in Parliament, Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner told MPs that "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". She added: "And secondly, I want to fully test whether our proposals for local government reorganisation meet the priorities of a new administration and a new prime minister and any additional considerations." Rayner acknowledged the announcement was "disappointing" but insisted the government was "determined more than ever to devolve power closer to the people we represent" - a key priority of new PM Andy Burnham. The plans originated under Sir Keir Starmer's government, when Rayner was also local government secretary, before she was replaced . The government was already facing legal challenges over proposals to reorganise councils in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. In June, Reform-led councils in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk launched judicial reviews against the plans, while the Conservative-led administration in Hampshire did the same. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: "Reform UK not only argued that this government's plans for local government reorganisation were an unmitigated disaster, but we once again put our money where our mouth is." He added: "Thanks to our judicial reviews in affected Reform-led councils, the government has backed down on their plans yet again." Conservative shadow local government minister David Simmonds said it was a "humiliation" for the government. The spokesperson added that Rayner's announcement "will have caused significant uncertainty, after councils have invested scarce public money and countless hours" in the reorganisation programme. Local government in England is currently covered by a complicated patchwork of arrangements. In some places, responsibility for local services is shared between county councils, which manage areas including social care and education; and district councils, which cover smaller areas and are responsible for services such as bin collections. Some areas, particularly larger towns and some cities, have "unitary" authorities responsible for both - while the regions surrounding big cities are increasingly covered -council "combined" authorities, with greater powers in areas such as transport policy, planning and housing.