Agenda and draft minutes
PDF 243 KBVenue: The Guildhall, Saltergate, Lincoln, LN1 1DH
Contact: Ali Hewson, Senior Democratic Services Officer Tel: (01522) 873370 or Email: democratic.services@lincoln.gov.uk
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Declarations of Interest Please note that, in accordance with the Members' Code of Conduct, when declaring interests members must disclose the existence and nature of the interest, and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest (DPI) or personal and/or pecuniary. Minutes: No declarations of interest were received. |
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Local Government Reorganisation Additional documents: Minutes: Purpose of Report
To seek Executive approval of the response to the Government’s invitation to submit a proposal/interim plan for Local Government Reorganisation as detailed in Appendix 1.
Decision
That the response to the Government’s invitation to submit a proposal/interim plan for Local Government Reorganisation as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be approved.
Alternative Options Considered
All options must be presented against the criteria set out by the Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) and this included local proposals in the context of a wider geography, within a strategic authority area. For Lincolnshire, this meant two-tier councils, seven district councils, Lincolnshire County Council, unitary councils, North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council. MHCLG expected that proposals for the whole area could be for one or more new unitary councils and should be complementary to devolution plans.
There had been several meetings of council Leaders and Chief Executives to review approaches to developing proposals. It was accepted that at this moment in time, only six weeks after the receipt of the Minister’s letter it was unlikely that all 10 councils would reach a consensus on the best future model for unitary councils across Lincolnshire. There was a broad sense that the future model of delivery for local government would encompass two or three unitary councils across Greater Lincolnshire.
It was expected that there would be several different proposals submitted from Lincolnshire councils to Government that could be further discussed prior to the final November submission. This was likely to be the case in many two tier areas across the country.
Reasons for the Decision
The English Devolution White Paper published on the 16 December 2024 and the accompanying correspondence written on the same day, made clear the Government’s intention to devolve power from Westminster to strategic authorities across the whole of England. In addition, the White Paper outlined the requirement for all two-tier local authority areas, as well as smaller unitary authorities and failing unitary authorities, to reorganise to form new unitary authorities.
The White paper argued that the current system of local government was overly complex and fragmented and argued that any reorganisation would reduce fragmentation and duplication and enabled economies of scale to be realised. This placed the sector on a financially firmer footing to improve service delivery and outcomes.
The new system was envisaged to consist of two local authorities ‘layers’:
On the 5 February 2025, Greater Lincolnshire authorities were informed by the MHCLG that they were not on the local government priority programme, therefore Lincolnshire County Council elections would be going ahead this May.
On the 5 February 2025, MHCLG wrote to all Greater Lincolnshire authorities formally issuing statutory invitations inviting them to work with other council leaders in the area to develop a proposal for local government reorganisation.
The letter asked for an ... view the full minutes text for item 100. |