Local Government Reorganisation
In December 2024, the Government announced a major programme of modernisation for local government. There are two main aspects:
Local Government Reorganisation: This initiative does not involve moving any powers between national and local government. Everything done by local government will continue to be provided by local government. The proposal is to remove the current two-tier arrangements with county councils providing some services and district and borough councils providing others. Instead it will be replaced with a simpler, single tier of new unitary local authorities which would provide all services.
Devolution: This involves moving powers and funding from central government to local areas. It’s already been successfully done in places like Manchester. For Southampton it will mean the creation of a new regional Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA). This would cover Southampton, Portsmouth, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight councils. These councils would not be changed by the proposals for devolution. Read about Devolution.
The Government intends to replace the current two-tier system of counties and district councils in some areas. Instead, it will create a single tier of unitary councils across the whole country with populations of around 500,000.
Southampton City Council is already a unitary authority. But our neighbours are district, borough and of course county councils. As we have a population of 265,000, the plans would be for a larger unitary authority covering a wider area to be created as part of the reorganisation.
There has been quite a lot of speculation about potential combinations of existing councils. However, it is still very early days, and no decisions have been made.
As part of a group of 12 of 15 Hampshire and Isle of Wight councils, we have undertaken a survey to gather views which closed on Sunday 27 July 2025. The comments received will help us to understand what matters most to people. This will help shape the preferred option that we will submit to government.
Formal proposals need to be submitted to the Government in the autumn with the new council arrangements likely to come into effect in 2027 or 2028.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Government changing about councils? SHOW
What is the difference between county, district and unitary councils? SHOW
Is Southampton City Council a unitary, county or district council? SHOW
How will Local Government Reorganisation impact Southampton City Council? SHOW
Does that mean Southampton City Council be merged with other councils? SHOW
When will proposals for new council boundaries be finalised? SHOW
How will proposals be drawn up? SHOW
Who makes the final decision on Local Government Reorganisation proposals? SHOW
