Leaders react to council shake-up pause

The leader of Lincolnshire County Council has welcomed news that a major shake-up of local government is to be put on hold.

The plans to scrap district and county councils and create larger unitary authorities were paused on Monday after the government launched a review in light of new legal advice.

Lincolnshire County Council leader Sean Matthews said: "I'm pleased the government's made this decision and I hope it becomes a more permanent one."

However, Richard Wright, leader of North Kesteven District Council, said: "It's not about being pleased. It's being concerned that we're actually back into a time of uncertainty."

Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner told MPs the pause was to ensure the plans were legal and fit the new government's priorities.

The plans originated under Sir Keir Starmer's government when Rayner was also local government secretary, before she was replaced by Steve Reed.

Rayner acknowledged the announcement was "disappointing" but insisted the government was "determined more than ever to devolve power closer to the people we represent".

The government confirmed local elections in May 2027 would go ahead on existing council boundaries.

Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are among 14 areas where local government reorganisation will be paused and reviewed.

North and North East Lincolnshire would not have been affected but, in July, the government announced it would create two large councils to cover the rest of the county, replacing seven existing district councils and the county council.

Matthews said the decision to halt the process was "the right decision".

"I've been banging this drum for months because the way that we were going to end up having unitary authorities in Lincolnshire was completely the wrong idea," he added.

Wright, who is also national chair of the Local Councils Network, said: "To find out that we're having a bit of a U-turn has obviously come as a surprise.

"There's a lot of time and effort gone into this. There's an awful lot of staff involved in this that were already wondering about their futures."

Wright said he would like clarity going forward and for the government "to be honest with us".

Wright added: "If it's actually going to go ahead with local government reorganiation, then it should be looking at the bids that were submitted, especially to check that they were actually compliant with the criteria, which was our question all along with regards to the decision they made."

On 3 September, South Kesteven District Council agreed to take the first formal step towards a potential legal challenge to the government's decision on local government reorganisation in Lincolnshire.

Council leader Ashley Baxter previously said he was "baffled, disappointed and outraged" by the situation and said his council would explore ways of overturning the decision.

The government was already facing legal challenges over proposals to reorganise councils in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

Matthews, who is also a member of the County Councils Network, said he had written to the government asking for details about what was happening.

"It's cost this council millions of pounds already for nothing now, for absolutely nothing," he said.

"[The] government going on and forcing us to do these things is crazy."

He added: "I think there is a place for reorganisation of local government because it is very bureaucratic at the moment, it is a very expensive thing, but the way they've gone about it is completely wrong."

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