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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 55454 on Local Government: Surrey, whether the Local Government Boundary Commission will be formally commissioned to undertake a full boundary review for the new unitaries.

My department is liaising closely with the Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) so that they are involved at the appropriate time to ensure fair electoral arrangements across the area of any new unitary local authority.

The LGBCE is responsible for electoral reviews for local government, reviewing wards, and setting the council size in terms of number of councillors. When a full electoral review of a newly established authority is carried out, the LGBCE will follow its guidance (which is available on its website). The LGBCE have recently published FAQ on their website to support councils going through Local Government Reorganisation and have set out as part of this that they expect to carry out an electoral review of all newly established local authorities after their first elections and before their subsequent elections.