Devolution and local government reorganisation FAQs and glossary

A: In England, devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. It is important because it ensures that decisions are made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect. 

A: The English Devolution White Paper is the Government’s statement of their plans to reform local government. This includes a wide range of proposals on devolution but also wider plans for local government reorganisation and changes to local audit. For further information on the specific proposals contained within the White Paper, please refer to the LGA’s on-the-day factual briefing.  

A: Under the Devolution Priority Programme, the Government has confirmed six areas as priority areas for English devolution. Subject to local councils’ agreement, Cumbria, Cheshire and Warrington, Norfolk and Suffolk, Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, and Hampshire and the Solent will move forward with the creation of Mayoral Strategic Authorities. 

A: Inaugural mayoral elections in Cumbria and Cheshire and Warrington will take place in May 2027. 

They will take place in Norfolk and Suffolk, Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, and Hampshire and the Solent in May 2028. 

These areas will receive a proportion of their yearly Investment Allocation ahead of mayoral elections and we are seeking further information about devolution of powers in this period. More information is available in the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on 4 December 2025.

A: Strategic authorities are a new, overarching legal category which will be established in the English Devolution Bill. They will not replace existing Combined and Combined County Authorities.

Each CA and CCA will automatically become a Strategic Authority. Strategic authorities will have responsibility for strategy development and programme delivery across specific areas of competence (broad thematic areas of activity) with corresponding functions set out against each of these in a statutory devolution framework. There will be three levels of Strategic Authority, which are:

• Foundation Strategic Authority: Available to those areas without an elected mayor, Foundation Strategic Authorities will have limited devolution. CAs and CCAs will automatically be designated as this, for example, the current Lancashire devolution deal will establish a Foundation Strategic Authority. 
   
• Mayoral Strategic Authority: MCAs and MCCAs will automatically begin as this unless they have been designated as Established. For those with an elected mayor, a range of powers will be devolved. 
   
• Established Mayoral Strategic Authority: For those Mayoral Strategic Authorities who are able to satisfy a number of additional governance requirements. This unlocks access to further devolution, most notably the Integrated Settlement. The GLA and other MSAs such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will be designated as this.  

The GLA will become the Strategic Authority for London, and there will be an option for a Single Local Authority, by exception, to be designated as a foundation Strategic Authority as a stepping stone to forming a combined or combined county authority.

A: A combined authority is a legal body set up using national legislation that enables a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take collective decisions across council boundaries. You can find out more about this in the LGA’s publication  Combined Authorities: A Plain English Guide. 

A: A mayor is the directly elected leader of a geographical region. Many areas of England already have mayors, including London, Greater Manchester, and West Yorkshire. There are also directly elected mayors covering single unitary councils.  

A: The Government believes that within the context of strategic authorities, mayors should have a unique role which allows them to focus fully on devolved responsibilities. Council leaders are expected to continue to focus on leading their place and delivering vital services. 

A: The White Paper set out the principles for  agreeing geographies for MSAs, and states it may not be possible to meet all the principles in all situations and the government will work with areas to find an optimal outcome. On scale it states:

Scale: Strategic Authorities should be of comparable size to existing institutions. The default assumption is for them to have a combined population of 1.5 million or above, but we accept that in some places, smaller authorities may be necessary.

A: Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. In the context of the English Devolution White Paper, the Government have set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. The Government has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis. 

A: Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local government reorganisation is about how the powers and funding that sit with local government are organised between councils. 

A: Surrey councils are working to a shorter timeline for LGR than all other areas. Shadow council elections will take place in May 2026, with new councils going live on 1 April 2027.

All other areas will have received a decision on their new footprints by summer recess 2026, with new councils going live on 1 April 2028.

A: Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, Cornwall Council, Nottingham City Council and Reading Borough Council are all unitary councils. Large urban areas may have a unique form of unitary authorities called metropolitan councils, such as Oldham or Doncaster. London boroughs are also unitary authorities. 

A: When local council elections occur in an area without concurrent elections for Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) or other regional bodies, the MCA is still partially bound by the pre-election period rules. That is because MCAs are local authorities within the meaning of section 6 of the Local Government Act 1986. They are therefore subject to the same publicity restrictions in section 2 of the Local Government Act 1986 and are required by section 4 of that Act to have regard to the Code of Recommended Practice’s principles of impartiality and fairness during the pre-election period. That is not confined to publicity affecting MCA elections.

More detailed information is in our Pre-election period guide.

A: A shadow authority is elected to carry out the functions of a new unitary council until that authority formally comes into effect. This is commonly called “vesting day”.  

A: Yes, an elected member of a local authority can stand in the shadow authority elections. If elected to the new unitary council, this will be for a new term as set out in the Structural Changes Order. They can simultaneously serve out the remainder of their term as a councillor for the existing local authority until such time as the existing local authority is abolished – this is likely to be for a reduced term.  

A: The Structural Changes Order (legislation giving effect to a proposal for unitary local government in an area) will set out arrangements for elections to new shadow councils agreed with the area. Typically, the first elections take place on electoral arrangements based on existing unitary council wards and county electoral divisions, and in some cases, parishes. The names of wards and the numbers of councillors to be elected are specified in the legislation. After the first elections, it is usual for the Local Government Boundary Commission (England) to undertake a boundary review to put in place longer-term arrangements. 

A: We have updated the MHCLG FAQs to include questions and answers on this subject.

A: In a unitary authority, councillors will often take on a broader range of responsibilities, covering services that were previously managed by both district and county councils. While workloads may initially increase, the single-tier structure reduces duplication and simplifies governance. Over time, this allows councillors to focus more directly on leadership, community representation, and service outcomes.  

A: Not necessarily. The number of councillors used for the first elections will be an initial figure to allow the new authority to begin operating. After establishment, the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) will carry out a full electoral review before the second elections. This review may adjust councillor numbers and ward arrangements to ensure fair representation and long-term balance across the authority. However, having regard to LGBCE guidance in coming up with the initial figures, should mean disruption for the new councils, and significant amendments to councillor numbers can hopefully be avoided or minimised.  

A: The Local Government Association (LGA) encourages all councils to support their continuous improvement by engaging with sector-led support, including corporate peer challenge. The Best Value standards and intervention statutory guidance sets out an expectation that all local authorities will have a corporate or finance peer challenge at least every five years. Where councils are preparing for LGR, a corporate or finance peer challenge will help to identify issues which should be considered and addressed in preparing for LGR in relation to leadership, governance, finance, and capacity. There is also the potential for the corporate peer challenge to have an additional focus on readiness for LGR. 

A: In preparing for LGR it is important that each authority has a clear understanding of its strengths, risks and areas for improvement, with particular reference to leadership, governance, finance and capacity. These will continue to be and become even more relevant in the context of LGR – either when planning for transition or in understanding the resources and challenges which will come forward into the new authority. A corporate peer challenge will identify those strengths, risks and areas for improvement across these key areas, and can be targeted to focus particularly on preparedness, capacity and capability for LGR. The report can also provide helpful insights and reflections about opportunities, risks and priorities for any new unitary. 

A: The LGA brings together teams of member and officer peers to deliver constructively challenging and robust messages to support improvement and provide assurance. Peers are drawn from councils across the country, bringing a range of expertise, both in terms of the ‘core’ themes such as finance and governance, and with specific experience of LGR. 

A: By working in partnership with the sector, the LGA understands the pressures faced by councils and the capacity and resources required to undertake significant transformation such as LGR. CPC is delivered by the sector for the sector, using experienced member and officer peers, so we understand. We work with councils to minimise the burden of preparing for a CPC, using existing documentation wherever possible. Feedback from councils which have received CPCs demonstrates CPCs deliver excellent outcomes for councils and their communities. 

A: Visit the LGA’s corporate peer challenge webpages or speak to your Principal Adviser.