2019–2023 structural changes to local government in England
Structural changes to local government in England have taken place between 2019 and 2021, and will potentially continue in 2023. Ceremonial counties will not see any changes to their boundaries as the Lieutenancies Act 1997 will be amended to reflect the new local government areas that comprise them. Some of these changes continue the trend of new unitary authorities being created from other types of local government districts. This was a policy of Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick since 2019. Changes in 2019. In all new authorities created in 2019, new councils were  elected on 2 May 2019, along with local elections in other parts of the country. See 2019 United Kingdom local elections for details. Dorset. On 1 April 2019, the non-metropolitan county of Dorset and its six non-metropolitan districts were abolished, along with the unitary authorities of Poole and Bournemouth, with two new unitary authorities created in their place. The new unitary authorities are: Charter trustees were established for Bournemouth and for Poole as a consequence. For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2019 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council election and 2019 Dorset Council election . Somerset. On 1 April 2019, the number of districts in the non-metropolitan county of Somerset was reduced from five to four, when Taunton Deane and West Somerset were merged as Somerset West and Taunton. This new district is not a unitary authority, and the two-tier structure of county and district councils remains in place. Charter trustees were established for Taunton as a consequence. The inaugural election took place in 2019. Suffolk. On 1 April 2019, the number of districts in Suffolk was reduced from seven to five. West Suffolk was created by merging Forest Heath and St Edmundsbury . East Suffolk was created by merging Suffolk Coastal and Waveney. These new districts are not unitary authorities, and the two-tier structure of county and district councils remains in place. For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2019 East Suffolk District Council election and 2019 West Suffolk District Council election. Changes in 2020. In all new authorities created in 2020, new councils were scheduled to be elected on 7 May 2020, along with local elections in other parts of the country. However, all local elections in the United Kingdom were postponed a year due to the  coronavirus pandemic, so elections scheduled for 2020 were instead held on 6 May 2021. See 2021 United Kingdom local elections for details. Buckinghamshire. The existing Buckinghamshire County Council and the non-metropolitan districts of Aylesbury Vale, Chiltern, South Bucks, and Wycombe in Buckinghamshire were replaced by a single unitary authority known as Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020. This plan was proposed by Martin Tett, leader of the county council, and backed by then-Communities Secretary James Brokenshire. It received approval from Parliament in May 2019. The existing unitary authority of Milton Keynes was not affected; since 1 April 2020 , the ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire has therefore been composed of two unitary authorities. Before this was approved by Parliament, the district councils had proposed a different plan in which Aylesbury Vale would become a unitary authority and the three southern districts would become another unitary authority. The district councils opposed the single unitary Buckinghamshire plan, and considered legal action against it. For details of the inaugural elections to the new council, see 2021 Buckinghamshire Council election. Changes in 2021. In all new authorities created in 2021, new councils were elected on 6 May 2021, along with local elections in other  parts of the country. See 2021 United Kingdom local elections for details. Northamptonshire. On 1 April 2021, the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire and its seven districts were abolished, and two new unitary authorities were created: The Conservative national government proposed the changes in Northamptonshire as a cost saving measure, as the Conservative-led county council had been experiencing financial difficulty. The joint committee for West Northamptonshire claimed that the changes would save 85 million pounds per year. The "Northamptonshire (Structural Change) Order 2019" ("SCO") was brought before Parliament in October 2019, but due to the dissolution of Parliament on  6 November leading up to the general election on 12 December 2019, the changes were not then given final approval. Parliament went on Christmas break after the election, and the Order was eventually made on 14 February 2020. For details of the inaugural elections to the new councils, see 2021 North Northamptonshire Council election and 2021 West Northamptonshire Council election. Proposed changes in 2023. In all new authorities that will be created in 2023, new councils are scheduled to be elected on 5 May 2022, along with local elections in other parts of the country. See 2022 United Kingdom local  elections for details. Cumbria. In October 2020, the UK government invited proposals for reform of arrangements in Cumbria by 2023. Currently, the area is served by the Cumbria County Council, as well as six non-metropolitan district councils. Barrow Borough Council and South Lakeland District Council (in Cumbria) and Lancaster City Council (in Lancashire) proposed in 2020 to merge themselves into a Morecambe Bay unitary authority. The idea of a Morecambe Bay authority has been proposed several times previously. If the Redcliffe-Maud Report had been implemented, Furness & North Lancashire would have been one of the unitary authorities within the  North West Province. Before the unsuccessful 2004 North East England devolution referendum, when similar referendums were also planned in North West England and Yorkshire and the Humber, one proposed structure below the region level in North West England would have created a Morecambe Bay unitary authority, with the rest of Cumbria and Lancashire being divided into more unitary authorities. In July 2021, local government minister Robert Jenrick approved plans for two new unitary authorities, Westmorland and Furness and Cumberland. Parliamentary approval would be sought around the end of 2021, with the intention of holding elections for the new councils in  May 2022 and the councils going live in April 2023. The names for the proposed new authorities were announced in November 2021. The legislation required to bring the new structure into operation, the "Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022" ("2022 No. 331"), was made on 17 March 2022 and came into force the following day. The new unitary authorities are: North Yorkshire. In October 2020, the UK government invited proposals for reform of arrangements in North Yorkshire by 2023. The proposals were only to cover the areas of the administrative county of North Yorkshire and the City of York, and not  the parts of North Yorkshire outside those two areas (Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland & the southern part of Stockton-on-Tees). Later that year, North Yorkshire County Council proposed a unitary authority to replace existing non-metropolitan districts (but not the City of York, which was already a separate unitary authority). Around the same time, the districts of Craven, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby submitted a proposal for an "East & West model" of two unitary councils in North Yorkshire, including the City of York. The two new councils would cover Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and York in the east, and Craven , Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire in the west. In July 2021, local government minister Robert Jenrick approved plans for a single unitary authority, to be known as North Yorkshire Council. Parliamentary approval would be sought around the end of 2021, with the intention of holding elections for the new councils in May 2022 and the councils going live in April 2023. Somerset. Changes in Somerset have been under consideration since at least 2018. The existing unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset are not affected by any of these proposals. In October 2020, the UK government invited  proposals for reform of arrangements in Somerset by 2023. There were two rival proposals: a single unitary council, or two unitary councils (east and west). In 2020, Somerset County Council submitted a proposal known as "One Somerset" to the government. Under this plan, the county council and the four non-metropolitan districts of Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton and South Somerset would be replaced by a single unitary authority to be known as Somerset Council. This proposal was approved by the Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick, in July 2021. Parliamentary approval would be sought around the end of 2021 , with the intention of holding elections for the new Somerset Council in May 2022 and the council going live in April 2023. The four district councils had created a rival proposal, known as "Stronger Somerset", where the county and district councils would be replaced by two unitary authorities. Mendip and South Somerset would be merged to create Eastern Somerset, while Sedgemoor and Somerset West and Taunton would be merged to create Western Somerset. The district councils argued that a single authority would be too far removed from the citizens, and said that forming two instead of one would help save  £204 million. District councillors agreed to this plan in August 2020, and a poll organised by the district councils in May 2021 found 65% support for the Stronger Somerset proposal. Other proposals. Gloucestershire. In August 2020, it was reported that Cheltenham Borough Council, Cotswold District Council and Stroud District Council were exploring ways to create unitary authorities for their county. The plans would affect Gloucestershire County Council and all six of its districts (not South Gloucestershire, which is already a unitary authority). It was suggested that there could be two new unitary authorities: one in the west of the  county (Gloucester, Stroud and Forest of Dean) and another in the east (Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Cotswold). The proposals were described as "nuts" by the leader of Gloucestershire County Council. Kent. In Kent in 2017, Dover, Thanet, Shepway, Ashford and Canterbury councils proposed a five-way merger in 2020. However, following the withdrawal of interest from Ashford and Shepway councils the remaining authorities decided not to take matters further. Lancashire. In 2020–21, Lancashire County Council leader, Geoff Diver mentioned that the council was in talks to abolish the existing 15 district and borough councils in the county. In place of the  already existing districts and boroughs, they proposed creating three new unitary authorities which would also include Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool. He suggested one unitary authority called "Central Lancashire" could be formed to cover the pre-existing new town proposal which would have included the Borough of Chorley, South Ribble, Preston and West Lancashire. Another is called "North West Lancashire" which would cover the City of Lancaster, Fylde, Wyre, Blackpool, and Ribble Valley. And the other one would be called "East Pennine Lancashire" which covers the Borough of Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, Rossendale and Blackburn with Darwen. However, these have not  been so far reviewed by the government. Other unitary authority proposals around the county included a new unitary authority covering the aforementioned "Central Lancashire", however the councils snuffed Preston City Council from being a part of the proposal. In 2021, the government and Lancashire County Council rejected a proposal put forward by the councils of the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland and City of Lancaster to form a new unitary authority covering part of the historical county of Lancashire which included the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness and parts of South Lakeland. This would have placed parts of  Cumbria back into Lancashire and would have meant it gained the towns of Ambleside, Bowness-on-Windmere, Kendal, Kirkby Lonsdale, Windermere, and Sedbergh which were part of Westmorland and the West Riding of Yorkshire. Proposals for unitary authorities continue Lincolnshire. In 2021, the Borough of Boston, East Lindsey and South Holland councils formed the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership — a partnership with an ambitious plan to save £42m across the Councils over 10 years, whilst creating greater capacity to do more for communities. the talk of reorganising Lincolnshire has come under criticism and proposals and planning is still  ongoing. Staffordshire. In 2020, it was proposed by the Centre for Cities think tank that the neighbouring districts of Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands should merge into a single unitary authority with the city of Stoke-on-Trent to form a new unitary authority known as "Greater Stoke". Settlements in the area would include Newcastle-under-Lyme, Kidsgrove, Cheadle, Leek and Biddulph. As well as the "Greater Stoke" unitary proposal, other proposed unitary authorities in the county include one combining Stafford Borough, Cannock Chase and East Staffordshire into a "Staffordshire" unitary authority. This would include outlying towns such as  Stafford, Cannock and Burton-upon-Trent. The districts of Lichfield, South Staffordshire and Tamworth would become full members of the West Midlands Combined Authority as part of the wider West Midlands county, although it is not clear if they would remain separate districts or form a new unitary authority. Warwickshire. In 2021, the district councils of Stratford and Warwick announced their intention to merge to form a new "South Warwickshire" district with a population of around 274,000. the proposal has not been approved by central government or pursued further by either council. Worcestershire. A unitary authority for south Worcestershire – covering  the city of Worcester and the Malvern Hills and Wychavon districts – was suggested in 2016 by Paul Denham, at the time a city and county councillor and mayor of the city. The idea was discussed in 2018 by Wychavon District councillors including the leader of the Liberal Democrats at the time, Councillor Margaret Rowley. However, the leaders of the Labour and Conservative groups on Worcester City Council spoke out against the suggestion, arguing that Worcester should have its own unitary authority rather than be subsumed by a wider authority. In 2019, Bromsgrove Independent councillor Steve Colella suggested that Worcestershire should  be merged with other councils in the local region. In the following year, the leader of Redditch Borough Council, Councillor Matt Dormer backed plans to split the county into unitary authorities, arguing that "Redditch has never had its fair share from the County and I am democratically elected to do the best for Redditch". He also argued that the town was open to the best deal and investment, as well as praising neighbouring Warwickshire for following the government's proposals.