As you may have seen in the news last week, on Monday 7 September the Government announced that it was withdrawing its previous decision to create three new unitary councils in Suffolk. This is also the case in Norfolk, Essex and Hampshire. You can read more about the decision on the GOV.UK website.
While there is still a level of uncertainty about what this means for Suffolk, the Future Suffolk Implementation Board met last week and there is now greater clarity on the next steps, which we would like to share with our partners and stakeholders.
Firstly, we would like to thank everyone who has engaged with the LGR process to date. Over recent months, a significant amount of work has been undertaken by teams across Suffolk's councils, alongside partners and stakeholders from across the county. This collective effort has helped strengthen our understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing local government in Suffolk and has reinforced our shared commitment to delivering the best possible outcomes for residents, communities and businesses.
We would also like to reassure you that this work has not been wasted. The substantial work completed so far has generated valuable evidence, insight and learning which we aim to use to strengthen service delivery across the Suffolk system.
The work undertaken to date has demonstrated the strength of partnership working across the county. Regardless of the immediate position on LGR, we remain committed to working collaboratively with our partners to address the challenges and opportunities facing Suffolk.
What happens next
- As a result of the Government's decision, there is currently no LGR proposal in place for Suffolk. Furthermore, a withdrawn decision cannot simply be restarted without a new formal decision by the Secretary of State.
- The Government will carry out a rapid review of existing LGR proposals and will provide further detail on how this process will operate.
- Elections in May next year will go ahead. However, these will no longer be for the proposed Shadow Authorities and will instead take place on existing district and borough boundaries.
Although we now have greater clarity on the immediate position, there are still areas where further information from Government is required.
Devolution
While it is important not to confuse the two programmes, we recognise that many partners have questions about what these developments mean for devolution.
The message from Government is clear: devolution is continuing.
The Government has confirmed that recent developments relating to LGR do not affect the timetable for devolution and will be publishing a new White Paper on 'Rewiring the State' later in the Autumn.
We know that many of our partners and stakeholders will have questions about the future direction of local government in Suffolk. As more information becomes available and there is greater clarity on the next steps, we will continue to keep you informed.
Yours sincerely
Chris Bally
On behalf of the Future Suffolk Implementation Board