Plans for new unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and
Somerset have taken an important step forward today following
approval from Local Government Secretary .
The plans will move the areas away from a two-tier system of
county and district councils to unitary councils, strengthening
local leadership and transforming the way services are delivered
in these areas.
Establishing these new unitary councils will help ensure the
people and businesses across Cumbria, North Yorkshire and
Somerset can have the sustainable high-quality local services
they deserve.
This reorganisation will bring significant benefits to Cumbria,
North Yorkshire, and Somerset, giving the local leaders there
tools to help level up opportunity and prosperity across their
communities.
For Cumbria two unitary councils will be established - an East
unitary council covering Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland and a
West unitary council covering Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland,
and in North Yorkshire and Somerset, a new single unitary council
will be established for each county area; all subject to
Parliamentary approval.
The locally-led plans are being taken forward after a period of
consultation which considered views from residents, business
leaders and councils.
The Local Government Secretary has asked the existing councils
and their partners to work collaboratively and constructively
together to drive forward the process of establishing unitary
councils.
Local Government Secretary Rt Hon MP said:
I have always been clear that any restructuring of local
government must be locally-led and will not involve top-down
solutions from government.
Residents, businesses and service providers have had their say on
what will work best for their area and now councils in these
three areas can start planning for the next step.
Where there is local support, changing the structure of local
government can offer better value for money and improved services
for residents.
This follows an announcement by the Prime Minister last week
whereby he set out his vision to level up and unite the whole of
the United Kingdom. In a speech, he set out the government’s role
to:
- empower strong local leaders by taking a more flexible
approach to devolution, with new ‘County Deals’
- focus on growing the private sector by creating the
conditions for long-term growth and productivity;
- invest in infrastructure and connectivity;
- ensure that people have access to good public services, and
the skills and training needed to get good jobs; and
- improve the quality of life in communities through cutting
crime and regenerating towns and high streets
Moving forward, Parliamentary approval will be sought to
implement these locally led plans for the area. At the turn of
the year, a draft structural changes Order will be laid in
Parliament. This will include plans for the necessary
transitional arrangements, including for elections in May 2022
for the future unitary councils.
Further information
The consultation which was launched in February asked a number of
questions about each proposal around value for money, proposed
geography of the council and impact of the proposal on local
services.
There were over 13,000 responses from residents, councils in
neighbouring areas, health providers, the police, Local
Enterprise Partnerships, businesses voluntary groups and
educational bodies.
The three criteria which had to be met before a proposal was
accepted were:
- is likely to improve local government and service delivery
across its area;
- commands a good deal of local support as assessed in the
round overall across the whole area of the proposal;
- and any unitary councils to be established have a credible
geography.
