Local Government Re-organisation

Thoughts on today’s Local Government Re-organisation announcement from Connect’s Managing Partner, Andy Sawford, who leads our local government practice, including work on LGR:

Today’s LGR decisions are important not just for the areas announced, but for what they tell us about how Government is really approaching this programme. On paper, the criteria have not changed. In practice, they clearly have.

Take population size. The sector has worked on an assumption of councils of around 500,000. The reality announced today is very different. Across the four areas, average populations are closer to 350,000, and in some cases much lower. That is not a rounding error. It is a shift in approach. The implication is that scale is no longer the determining factor. It is one consideration among several and, in a number of cases, has been outweighed.

Two things seem to matter more.  First, alignment with economic geography and growth. The chosen models map closely to functional economic areas and housing priorities. This is a reform programme being driven as much by growth and delivery as by governance.   Second, politics. In several areas, the solutions taken forward are those most strongly backed by Labour councils and MPs. That is not the whole story, but it is part of it.

There is also a notable shift in risk appetite. Concerns about disaggregating complex services like adult social care and children’s services have not prevented smaller unitary models being chosen. 

For those still in the process, the message is clear.   Size alone will not win the argument. The strongest cases will be those that align with growth, devolution and deliverability.

This is not a neutral, technical exercise. It is a reform programme being actively shaped by political and policy priorities.