I make no apologies for another post about Devolution and Local Government Reform (LGR), this is the most significant change to local government in Essex since the nineteen seventies.
The LGR juggernaut rumbles on.
This week the various district councils, along with Essex County Council, delivered another letter to HM Government outlining their interim proposals for LGR.
The Government’s guidelines suggest an optimum size of around 500,000 residents for each Unitary Authority. Essex’s population is around 1.9 million (actually 1,877,301 according to the Office for National Statistics) so three or four unitary authorities seem likely. Some districts are pushing for five authorities, but the final decision will be made by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government).”
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And while some are sceptical that LGR will save money – it will take time for long term contracts to be realigned to the new authorities. – but it’s worth considering that the new unitary authorities will replace fifteen authorities.
That’s fifteen council chambers, fifteen Chief Executives, fifteen Chief Financial Officers, fifteen HR Directors and so on, along with around seven hundred councillors.
Although as I heard recently “You don’t become a councillor for the money or thanks”.
In the meantime, candidates for the new ‘Mayor of Essex’ will need to be identified, the election of the new Mayor is scheduled for May of next year.
The final number of authorities, along with how existing districts will be mapped into them, is expected in the autumn.
The timeline for Devolution and LGR is:
- 21st March 2025: Submission of Interim Proposals Plan to the Government
- 26th September 2025: Submission of the developed Unitary Authorities and implementation plans to Government
- February 2026: Delivery of implementation plan and key stages/milestone
- May 2026: Mayoral Elections
- May 2027: Shadow Authority Elections
- April 2028: Vesting Day (District and County Council cease to exist)