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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the report by Localis entitled Reorganisation, local government and the future of English Devolution, published on 25 June 2025; and what estimate her Department has made of the reduction in the number of councillors from local government reforms.

I would like to thank Professors Copus and Leach for their analysis of the short and long-term history of English local government reform, which my officials are considering. The department has not made an estimate of the reduction in the number of councillors from local government reforms. It is important that councils have the right number of members to achieve the strategic, decision-making and representative roles of the authority. As I set out in my answer to PQ 26697 on 4 February 2025, 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 authorities.