Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to determine necessary criteria to assess whether strategic authorities are suitably established by the end of 2027 and able to be operational by 2028.

The Cabinet Statement, “Rewiring the State”, set out the Government’s ambition is to ensure every area in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a strategic authority by the end of 2027, with strategic authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028. The criteria for knowing whether this has been achieved are simple.

An area will ‘have’ a strategic authority if an authority has been legally established through the necessary statutory instrument. And an area ‘in the process of establishing’ a strategic authority will have started on the pathway to establishment, for example they may be in advanced discussions with government about plans for a strategic authority, launched a local consultation, or given local consent for government to proceed with the legislation.