Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which local authorities and combined authorities will receive additional powers and resources under the measures announced in his written statement of 7 September 2026.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local and combined authorities are central to the Government’s ambitions for economic growth, public service reform and stronger communities.
As we set out in the Government’s Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement (here), we are committed to shifting power and resources from central government to local leaders and communities across the whole country, including through ensuring that powers, functions and resources are exercised at the level most appropriate to achieving better outcomes for people and places.
The Government is committed to increasing the proportion of business rates retained by local government.
We will set out further detail on our approach to devolution and the distribution of responsibilities and resources across different levels of government in a forthcoming White Paper.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will publish all consultation responses relating to Lancashire local government reorganisation, subject to data protection requirements.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what alternative options for local government structures in Lancashire were considered before reaching the decision to merge Fylde Borough Council and Wyre Borough Council with Blackpool Council.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of redundancy costs arising from local government reorganisation in Lancashire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many responses relating to Lancashire were received during consultation on local government reorganisation.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the evidential was for reorganising local government in Lancashire into four unitary authorities.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed reorganisation on democratic accountability in Lancashire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how much funding her Department will provide towards the implementation costs of local government reorganisation in Lancashire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the cost of implementing local government reorganisation in Lancashire.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Secretary of State’s oral statement of 7 September 2026. The Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused activity in the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government reorganisation programme is conducted. We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.
The Government has published a summary of consultation analysis on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how long she expects the review of local government reorganisation to take.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government will consider the programme overall including the four withdrawn decisions from March, the further decisions taken in July, and the two areas where decisions have yet to be made. Surrey is not affected by this announcement as councillors have been elected to the new councils which will go live in April 2027.
We recognise the need for clarity and will set out next steps as soon as possible.