Local Government Reorganisation and devolution

Devolution

Devolution is the process where some powers of decision making and funding are transferred from Central Government to a local area (Norfolk in our case). This is so decisions around how money is invested can be based on local knowledge and made by people who understand local needs best.

TheEnglish Devolution White Paper (opens new window), published in December 2024, outlines the UK Government's plans to extend devolution across England.

For Norfolk, this will see a Mayor elected to lead both Norfolk and Suffolk. The Mayor would be responsible for a range of areas, including economic growth, housing delivery, strategic planning, transport, skills and the ability to set a council tax precept.

Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils submitted an application in January 2025 to be part of the priority programme, so we would have a Mayor in place sooner than other places in the country, which was agreed by the Government.

We currently expect a Mayor to take up their role in the next few years.

Local Government Reorganisation

Alongside the devolution process, the Government is also looking to replace existing district and county councils with new unitary councils. This will be the biggest shake-up in local government in 50 years.

The process, known as Local Government Reorganisation, would see Norfolk's eight borough, city, district and county councils replaced by a smaller number of unitary councils.

In early 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution wrote to all councils in two-tier areas (like Norfolk, where we have a county and district councils) to send in their proposals for what the future of service delivery could look like.

Breckland's view

This issue has been discussed and debated at a number of previous council meetings (see Read More, below, for details).

The Council's members have voted to:

Confirm it does not support the Government's proposed approach to Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and Devolution, is concerned about the risks to residents and businesses through the currently proposed approach and the future level of Council Tax and is proud of the track record of service delivery in Norfolk and Breckland
Agrees, should the Government insist on implementing Local Government Reorganisation in Norfolk, to support the development of a three unitary model
Delegated authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to finalise submissions to confirm the Council's position to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

Breckland Council is working collaboratively with Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Broadland District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, North Norfolk District Council, and Norwich City Council to respond to the Government's direction that we must draw up proposals for the future of Local Government structures and service delivery.

Our collective councils believe having three unitary councils would best serve the people of Norfolk (as opposed to having one or two), based on the findings of an independent report - The Strength of Three - and our collective knowledge of our communities.

Our shared Future Norfolk programme outlines how having three councils would bring a local focus:

People: Strengthen local democracy, increase transparency, and make decision-making close to home
Place: Celebrate the unique identity, strengths, challenges, and heritage of different areas
Progress: Build a resilient, sustainable future for Norfolk that can adapt to changing needs

We are due to send our proposals to the Government in September 2025. As any changes could affect your services and who helps make decisions for your area - both locally and in raising Norfolk's voice nationally - we're asking everybody to complete a short survey to tell us about your priorities for future services. Your responses will help inform our submission to the Government.

In early 2026, we expect to hear from Government which proposed structure it supports, before we move into implementing the new structures and approach to services.

You can find out more, share your views, and sign up to receive email alerts as we move through this important process atFutureNorfolk.com (opens new window)

This issue has been discussed at a number of previous council committee meetings. You can read the papers and minutes on our website:

Council - Thursday, 20 March, 2025 (opens new window)

Cabinet - Monday, 24 March, 2025 (opens new window)

Overview and Scrutiny Commission - Thursday, 15 May, 2025 (opens new window)