Agenda item

Councillor Naomi Tweddle, Leader of the Council, presented a report on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), which provided an opportunity to contribute to the debate on LGR in response to the Government’s invitation to submit details of proposed unitary authorities, as per section 2 of the Local Government Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.  The Leader invited views from Council so a submission could be formulated by 21 March 2025.

During discussion, the following points were noted:

·       It was recognised that it was unlikely to be a consensus across Lincolnshire on the future of local government in the county and it was therefore likely multiple options would be put forward. Furthermore, a councillor felt that Lincoln was not large enough in size to warrant its own unitary authority.

·       A councillor expressed disappointment that the Government was looking to reorganise local government, which would come at a significant cost to the tax payer, when there were other more pressing priorities such as addressing the overspend within the NHS.

·       Several councillors expressed concern over any potential suggestion of a ‘mega-council’ for Greater Lincolnshire, as Lincoln would get lost amongst it.  It was therefore felt that an option should be developed for Lincoln.

·       It was suggested that the Leader and other colleagues liaised with councils who had already gone through local government reorganisation, if they had not done so already, to gain an understanding of what to expect and any challenges, as these could help develop a proposal for Lincoln.

·       It was recognised that LGR would not disappear and therefore it was important to develop an option best for Lincoln.  Furthermore, it was commented that the Government was beginning to soften its approach of 500k residents and therefore an option for Lincoln was viable.

·       A councillor commented that LGR had been successful in other areas, and it would work in Lincolnshire.

·       A councillor spoke against any option for Lincoln and felt that two unitary authorities for Greater Lincolnshire would be the best option, and this would not disadvantage Lincoln.  The councillor requested regular member briefings on this topic.

·       It was confirmed that key information would be shared amongst councils to ensure each proposal was using the same and accurate data sets when developing proposals.  Regular meetings were also taking place with Leaders and Chief Executives across Lincolnshire on the topic of LGR. It was confirmed that there was no intention to defer the elections in May 2025 and at present, these were going ahead as scheduled. It was also confirmed that proposals could cut across district council boundary lines.

·       It was commented that a number of villages on the outskirts of Lincoln identified as living in Lincoln and it was likely these areas could be included in a proposal for Lincoln.

·       It was reiterated that the future of LGR would involve unitary councils, as the current system was confusing to most residents.  Work would continue to develop a proposal for Lincoln, which would involve expanding its boundary into other areas.  It was emphasised that Lincoln was a vibrant City and had outgrown its current boundary and this provided an excellent opportunity for Lincoln to self-govern.

The Leader expressed her thanks to officers for all their hard work to date on local government reorganisation.

The report was noted.