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 any correspondence sent to councils on local government restructuring since 16 December 2024.

I wrote immediately after the publication of the English Devolution White Paper on 16 December to leaders of all councils in areas where there is a two-tier structure of local government, and to leaders of neighbouring unitary councils. My letter set out further details on the Government's ambitions for local government reorganisation and next steps in the process of moving to simpler structures in all those areas. I will make arrangements for that letter to be published on gov.uk shortly. I will write to this group again by the end of January to invite unitary proposals for their area.