Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation
About devolution and local government reorganisation
In December 2024, the government published a document called the English Devolution White Paper which set out plans to reform the way local government works in England. There are two main parts to the paper:
- Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
- Devolution
We've summarised the important points for you below.
This video was generated using AI to help us make effective use of time and resources.
What's the difference between devolution and local government reorganisation?
Devolution and local government reorganisation are two separate processes, although they may happen at the same time.
Devolution gives local areas more powers and money from government.
Local government reorganisation is about changing the number or structure of councils.
Local Government Reorganisation
The government wants to simplify the way local government works by creating unitary councils. These would be single councils responsible for all local government services within a particular area.
This means all your services would be delivered by one council, instead of between the county, city, district and borough councils.
Staffordshire currently has 10 councils:
- Staffordshire County Council
- Stoke-on-Trent City Council
- Eight district and borough councils
Devolution
The government's paper also set out plans for how it would like to move powers from central to local government across England. This is known as devolution.
Devolution could give our area extra powers and funding which may mean that more decisions are made locally. These are new powers that existing councils cannot access on their own.
How we'll keep you updated
Any change will take several years to work through.
- You can follow the latest updates on the Staffordshire Newsroom and on our social media channels.
- You can also sign up for MyStaffordshire, a fortnightly email update delivered to your inbox.
