The Government announced today that it will be withdrawing its decision on local government reorganisation (LGR) for a number of councils including Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and revisiting them over the next three months.
Jim McMahon, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth said he will be testing the proposals and evidence already received, after which decisions will be taken afresh.
The Minister said that where the original decisions did stand, shadow elections for the new authorities would take place in May 2028, with Vesting Day moving forward to April 2029.
Leicester City Council elections set for May 2027 will take place as planned.
The news on LGR follows the Government’s announcement yesterday that it is in the final stages of agreeing 10 new devolution agreements, including a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said; “I’m very disappointed the Government is continuing to delay the decision on local government reorganisation for our area. This uncertainty will make it very difficult for us to proceed with the work needed to create a mayoral strategic authority.
“All of the leaders in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland made it very clear a year ago that LGR was an essential first step to mayoral strategic authorities, especially as we would then have four tiers of local government in our area, which is expensive and confusing. Removing at least one of those tiers is essential to getting the MSA in place.
“Indeed, in his statement to the House of Commons this morning, Minister Jim McMahon said ‘making sure the country is ready for devolution depends upon strong, sustainable local government, and it’s only through local government reorganisation that we’ll create those strong foundations’. He also said that mayoral strategic authorities are underpinned by strong unitary councils.
"The Minister did tell us this morning that he won't be seeking further proposals or carrying out further consultation, but will be testing the evidence that has already been submitted. We are very confident that the evidence we submitted was strong, and that our proposal was the only one in LLR that met all of the Government's criteria."