Local councils to see radical overhaul with dozens of district authorities to be abolished

Dozens of district councils across England are set to be abolished in the biggest local government shake-up in more than 50 years.

Six counties – Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk – are in line to have their district councils merged into new unitary authorities.

The sweeping reforms would affect a significant portion of England’s current structure of 21 county councils and 164 district councils.

Ministers believe the current two-tier local government system is inefficient and are planning widespread consolidation.

Government sources say they have consulted “extensively” with councils over the reforms and are only proceeding where there is local support.

Analysis commissioned by the County Councils Network in 2020 found that merging every two-tier council would save taxpayers nearly £3billion over five years.

Ten areas across the country have been identified by ministers for replacing the two-tier system with larger unitary authorities.

The reforms are being spearheaded by local government minister Jim McMahon, with support from No10’s director of local government and devolution, Pete Robbins.

Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney is also backing the initiative.

A White Paper on English devolution is expected to be published in the coming weeks, which will likely provide more details on the proposed changes.

However, concerns have been raised about the impact on local democracy by representatives of district councils.

Sam Chapman-Allen, chairman of the District Councils’ Network, warned: “Local democratic accountability depends on residents retaining a demonstrably close link to the councillors who represent them.”

He cautioned against viewing larger councils as a universal solution, stating: “Attempts at structural change in recent years suggest that creating large councils is no panacea for resolving the many challenges local government faces.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government emphasised that no final decisions have been made regarding council reorganisation.

“Our priority is to focus on the transfer of power from Westminster and work with councils to create structures that make sense for their local areas and work effectively for local people,” they said.

The Ministry indicated further details would be outlined in the upcoming English devolution White Paper.