English Devolution

You may have seen recent press coverage about the government’s plan to reorganise local government.

I thought it might help to explain what we know so far, and what it may mean for us in Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley and Stinchcombe ward. This is only a short summary - do contact me if you’d like to discuss it in more detail.

In the English Devolution White Paper, published just before Christmas, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government set out a plan to dissolve district and county councils into new unitary authorities, and to introduce new, powerful regional strategic authorities (where they don’t already exist), led by a mayor for the region.

Gloucestershire County Council applied to government to cancel the upcoming May elections, in order to “fast track” reorganisation in the county. This request was turned down, which means we’ll have elections on 1st May as planned, and a slightly slower path to reorganisation.

A joint letter from the county’s councils will go to government in time for a 21st March deadline, advising of the proposals being explored in Gloucestershire, both at the county level (probably one, or possibly two, unitary councils) and which wider mayoral authority we should join (West of England Combined Authority, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Wiltshire & Swindon?).

Final proposals are due in the autumn, though government will make the final decision. Any new unitary authority/ies could replace the County Council as early as May 2027, with Gloucestershire’s six district/borough councils dissolved into it a year later.

The local government reorganisation element of this was unexpected, and has come as a shock to many. While badged as devolution, it will take key aspects of decision-making about our district further away from our communities. Residents of Gloucestershire will also be served by far fewer elected representatives, at a time when the population per councillor in the UK is already amongst the highest across Europe.

The government have ++not++ allowed for public consultation so far, but we are keen to hear your views on what is proposed.

The overall plan has been set, but the detail will be key.

Stroud District Council retains assets and services that many other councils have lost - we’ll be doing our very best to ensure those are preserved for our communities. We’ll need to work closely together, across parish, district and county, to secure the best version of “devolution” here, as the next phase unfolds.

Thanks to Chloe Turner for putting this brief together. :)