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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department will reimburse local authorities for costs they have incurred in connection with local government reorganisation in Devon.

The Government understands that areas will have incurred costs associated with local government reorganisation in good faith. £63 million in capacity funding was previously announced to support places going through the LGR process, allocated on the basis of £900,000 per new unitary, reflective of the now-withdrawn decisions made earlier in the year.

The previous decision for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay has been withdrawn for further consideration. All options and proposals remain under consideration.

All areas will receive half of the transition funding previously due - £450,000 per previously announced new unitary. These guaranteed payments will be made in the coming weeks regardless of the review’s outcome.

Once final decisions are made, areas will receive any remaining balance of the £900,000 transition support per new unitary, taking account of funding already provided, alongside £150,000 per new unitary for leadership capacity and continuity in Children’s Services, Adult Social Care and Public Health. Different decisions may be made from those made earlier in the year, in which case payments due will be re-calculated.