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 and Devolution.

Local Government Reorganisation 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.

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, we are still early in this process and, while we are working towards putting forward our preferences to Government, Government has not made any decisions at this time.

Close enough to be local, big enough to stay strong

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 have helped us to understand what matters most to people. This has helped to shape the preferred option that we are considering submitting to Government.

Our proposal, ‘Close enough to be local, big enough to stay strong’ shows the detailed evidence and consideration that underpins our shared vision for the future of local government that will best deliver for the people of Hampshire and the Solent. You can view and download the proposal and its appendices below:

Proposal

Document	Type	Size
Introduction	pdf	694.2 KB
1. Our Approach	pdf	3.7 MB
2. Our Vision	pdf	585.1 KB
3. Hampshire and the Isle of Wight	pdf	940.1 KB
4. How our model meets the government’s criteria	pdf	2.8 MB
5. Isle of Wight case for remaining as an existing unitary council	pdf	731.3 KB
6. Alignment of our proposal to other government priority policy areas	pdf	563.5 KB
7. Financial case	pdf	2.3 MB
8. Implementation plan	pdf	694.3 KB

Appendices

Document	Type	Size
Appendix 1 - Options Appraisal	pdf	6.4 MB
Appendix 2 - Option 1	pdf	11.9 MB
Appendix 3 - Option 2	pdf	12.3 MB
Appendix 4 - Option 3	pdf	13.3 MB
Appendix 5 - Financial Technical Appendices	pdf	11.8 MB
Appendix 6 - Report By Collaborate For Social Change	pdf	12.9 MB
Appendix 7 - Equalities Impact Assessment	pdf	12.8 MB
Appendix 8 - Our Place, Our Future	pdf	13.6 MB

The proposal is due to be discussed by Full Council on Wednesday 24 September ahead of a decision by Cabinet the next day. If approved, the proposal will be submitted to Government on 26 September.

Devolution 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 more about Devolution.

Frequently asked questions