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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, CP 1218, published on 16 December 2024, what steps she is taking to ensure local identity is respected in local government reorganisation.

I wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and to neighbouring small unitaries on 5^th February to formally invite unitary proposals from all these councils. The invitation includes guidance on issues of local identity among other matters, all of which will be relevant to decisions between alternative local government reorganisation proposals for one area.