Councils to be merged in major local government change

District councils across England could be abolished and include more elected mayors under new plans for a major redesign of local government.

Ministers are set to publish a paper on Monday outlining plans to merge areas where there are currently two tiers of local authority – smaller districts and larger county councils – in a bid to streamline services.

Elected metro mayors are also set to gain new powers over planning, to speed up the delivery of new housing and infrastructure.

But the body representing district councils has warned the plans could cause “turmoil” and argued “mega-councils” could undermine local decision-making.

Local government in England is currently grappling with a complex system which has changed much in recent years.

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 collection.

Some areas, particularly larger towns and some cities, have “unitary” authorities responsible for both – while areas around larger cities have multi-council “combined” authorities with greater powers in areas such as transport policy, planning and housing. Being covered up by the authorities.

The Conservatives created 11 regions that have an elected “metro” mayor, and set a target that every part of England that wanted more powers in some form would get a devolution deal by 2030.

Despite this, almost half of the population of England lives in an area not covered by the devolution agreement.

The Labor government promised to increase the use of local powers ahead of the election, as a key part of its wider goals to grow the economy and build more housing.

A paper to be published on Monday is expected to set out the ambition to move towards unitary councils across England, with areas which currently have two tiers being asked to prepare merger proposals.

Streamlining local government will be presented as a way of enabling the creation of more powerful local mayors, which Labor views as a means of opening up infrastructure and attracting more investment.

Elected mayors would then oversee areas represented by two or more councils, and would be handed greater powers over things like planning decisions and public transport.

This could result in dozens of district councils being abolished – which some claim would deprive people of any real local decision-making.

This would require a series of deals nationwide, emulating North Yorkshire, which now has a unitary authority after eight councils merged together last year,

This would mark a scale of restructuring that would far exceed what Labor promised in its election manifesto, and would arguably be the biggest change in local government since the 1970s.

The overall timetable and route to achieve this has not been confirmed – and it is not yet clear whether the Government will use legal powers to bring councils together, or allow them to do so through funding arrangements. Would hope to encourage.

Labor argues that the overhaul will simplify local government and make savings by making the delivery of services more efficient.

In a speech on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will pledge to make devolution “the government’s default position”, and give councils the powers they need to “spur growth and raise living standards”.

But past efforts to reorganize local government have created controversy over geographic boundaries and where power sits.

The plans are opposed by the District Council Network (DCN), an umbrella group for such councils, which says there is “little evidence” from previous restructuring that taxpayers’ money will be saved.

Hannah Dalton, vice-president of the network, said that “the creation of a mega council” could prove to be “the opposite of devolution”.

He also warned that restructuring could trigger “a period of turmoil that will prevent councils from focusing on local services that bring new homes, jobs and reduce pressure on the NHS”.

However, the plans have been welcomed by the County Council Network (CCN), which says its members recognize the need to embrace the benefits of devolution in the face of “significant financial challenges now”.

Its chairman Tim Oliver said it had become clear that in many county areas, restructuring was needed to “unlock” more generous funding from central government and make the council “more financially sustainable”.

Cllr Lewis Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association (LGA), said, “Real devolution of powers and resources could play a huge role in promoting inclusive economic growth, creating jobs and improving public services”.

He said his members were “ready for change” but “be clear that the restructuring of local government must be a matter for the decision of councils and local areas”.

Monday’s paper is also expected to confirm plans to increase co-operation between councils in the planning of transport and infrastructure projects.

Higher-level councils, including unitary authorities and existing county councils, will need to draw up watered-down versions of the “spatial development” strategies used to plan projects in larger cities.

Since returning to office in July, Labor has announced four devolution deals: Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Devon and Torbay, and Lancashire.

Combined authorities, including combined county authorities in more rural areas, are more advanced in the north of England than in the south.

There has been weak appetite for devolution deals in areas of the South-West and East Anglia, where minimum population requirements would also require the creation of larger joint councils.

Speaking on Sunday, Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham welcomed the plans for his region, but said they did not go “far enough” when it came to giving elected mayors more control over skills policy.

He said it was a sector driven by local needs and the Education Department’s “centralised approach” risked “putting the brakes” on economic growth.