Devolution and Local Government Reform
- laurendoble
- Aug 31, 2025
- 6 min read
August/September Update
The following update provides you with the key news relating to local government reform (LGR) and devolution for the months of August and September.
Government department responsible for local government reorganisation goes through
its own changes
The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner and
the Secretary of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon have been
removed from their respective positions as part of a Cabinet reshuffle. Steve Reed takes over
from Angela Rayner, with Miatta Fahnbulleh taking on McMahon’s responsibilities. The news
came as a bit of a surprise to the industry, given that he had introduced the English Devolution
and Community Empowerment Bill into Parliament on 2nd July, with it passing its second
reading earlier this month.
Given McMahon’s extensive role in the LGR and devolution agenda, questions have been
asked about the impact this will have on the Bill and the process generally. Devolution was part
of the Labour manifesto, LGR was not.
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill passes second reading and now
goes through the committee stage
The Bill passed its second reading on 2nd September 2025, with committee scrutiny of the
Bill starting on 16th September. Giving evidence to the committee scrutinising the Bill, Miatta
Fahnbulleh spoke to a number of issues, including:
Population size: Fahnbulleh committed to flexibility around the 500,000 population threshold
which is the “sort of scale that allows us to do certain functions”. She did say that, in case
of proposals of 100,000-200,000, they are likely to say that “that probably does not cut the
mustard.” The shadow local government minister asked if the leaders who submitted proposals
for their area thinking the 500,000 mark was fixed, would get an opportunity to resubmit their
application. The answer was that ministers would take other proposals into account with
“specific circumstances”.
Independent assessment of the financial impact of the reorganisation: Fahnbulleh did not
commit to whether an independent assessment had been done on the financial impact of
reorganisation. With that in mind, the Shadow Minister for Local Government asked, how the
Government viewed the 500,000-population mark as being the most efficient size? Fahnbulleh
reiterated that LGR plans are not just about savings and efficiency, but about removing
fragmentation and about what makes sense in terms of the types of services that local authorities
are asked to deliver and that LGR is about delivering better services and better outcomes for
communities.
Town and parish councils: A Liberal Democrat spokesperson asked about the role of town
and parish councils going forward and how local people can be involved in local governance.
Fahnbulleh reiterated that the Bill places a duty on local authorities to think about neighbourhood
governance. She said that parish councils may be the chosen structure for that local leadership
but that different places may prefer different structures and that there was a need to ensure a
diversity of representation.
Scrutiny of mayors: The Green party representative outlined concerns around scrutiny of
mayors and combined authorities, and how this particular function is not adequately resourced.
She also advocated for the opposition-led scrutiny that has been effective in London for 25
years. Fahnbulleh admitted that the “scrutiny landscape is not as it should be” but that the
Government was working to correct it. She also acknowledged the current resourcing issue.
Rural mayors/combined authorities: A Conservative representative asked what the difference
would be between the existing mayoralties which are mainly urban and the new rural ones
being proposed. Fahnbulleh stressed that the benefits of devolution for both will be the
same. However, each new strategic authority would be different as they have to “be specific to
particular places”.
Cornwall: The Labour MP for the Cornish towns of Cambourne and Redruth, referencing
provisions in the Bill which can allow ministers to force councils to form combined authorities
with their neighbours, asked if the Bill would be amended to include a special provision for
Cornwall so that it can access the highest level of devolution without compromising their
national minority status? Fahnbulleh said the government “recognises the uniqueness of
Cornwall” but that new combined authorities were about creating the conditions for “growth”
and that may “require collaboration beyond the boundaries of Cornwall”.
The next committee sitting will take place on the 16th October 2025.
Have you seen our analysis on the Bill?
We have done several deep dives into the Bill and how it relates different service areas. You
can access them here:
1. General overview of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
2. How the Bill impacts regeneration and economic development
3. How the Bill impacts planning and highways
4. How the Bill impacts investors and developers
Remember, all of our updates and analysis are available on our Devolution and LGR Hub.
Useful resources published this month
Briefing: From final plans to vesting day — the journey of a shadow authority (LGIU)
This briefing looks at the formation of a shadow authority during the local government
reorganisation process. Using case studies from previous shadow authorities, LGIU identifies
four phases that a shadow authority must go through before it dissolves and the new unitary is
officially formed. This examination of the processes explains what officers should expect.
Briefing: English devolution and the transfer of police and crime powers
The government’s devolution agenda in England will change the landscape of how policing and
crime is governed. New mayors, with multi-year funding and responsibility for a broad policy
remit across their regions, are set to take on powers currently held by police and crime, and
in some cases fire, commissioners. They will be responsible for holding the police to account,
setting police and crime plans and budgets and become the elected voice of the public in
policing. This new guidance issued by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners sets
out how to manage successful transfers of FPCC functions and guides areas where devolution
is happening.
Briefing: The English Devolution Bill and the case for a climate and nature duty (Wildlife and
Countryside Link)
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill will create powerful new strategic
authorities across England, with key responsibilities for planning, housing and transport. These
bodies will shape growth and infrastructure for millions of people and represent the most
significant governance reform in decades. However, the Bill lacks safeguards to ensure climate
and nature are central to this new system. This Briefing makes the case for this to be included.
How we can help
Since the Devolution and Local Government Reform (LGR) White Paper launched just before
Christmas last year, local authority leadership groups have worked tirelessly to create their
proposals for restructuring, whilst simultaneously ensuring that their existing council continues
to deliver services in difficult times. Either one of these would be all-consuming at the best of
times but the ambitious timelines set out by the Government and the recent announcements
relating to this have added additional layers of complexity. We are here to help you navigate
these challenges and can do so as follows:
1. Advice on the strategic issues, for example, how to make decisions that achieve best
value duty without compromising the future unitary authority, for example in acquisitions,
disposals and project work
2. Advice on practicalities of asset transfers (e.g. asset reviews, and particular title/terms),
including identifying all assets in your possession, any liabilities attached to them (e.g.
contamination, rights of way, third party interests) and the options available for transfer
(particularly complex if a multiple unitary option is emerging).
3. Advice on disposal of surplus assets, including consideration of ‘best value’, public law
duties, timings (before or after vesting day), overage and clawback.
4. Review of leasehold estate, including identifying term expiry, break clauses, termination/
exit provisions.
5. As an arbiter on disputes arising from the interpretation of the transfer regulations
6. Interpreting charitable objects and the transfer of charitable assets to a successor unitary
authority
7. By providing you with additional capacity on your property, planning, construction and
other needs in busy periods and helping you to achieve the necessary objectives ahead
of vesting day.
8. Ongoing knowledge transfer, including developments in LGR, as well as changes to
existing service provisions.
Download the document here:
