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 total cost incurred to date by local authorities in Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk in preparing for local government reorganisation decisions that have been withdrawn.

As set out by the Secretary of State in her oral statement of 7 September, the Government has withdrawn the March 2026 decisions for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, and paused decisions for the other 14 areas while a full review of the local government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. We also recognise that areas will have committed resources to reorganisation and ministers will consider this matter alongside the review.