Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he plans to take to facilitate the merger of Waveney and Suffolk Coastal District Councils to form a new East Suffolk Authority.

We have received a proposal for a merger from Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils, which the Secretary of State will carefully consider together with any representations and supporting evidence before reaching an initial decision as to how he is minded to proceed. He intends to announce this initial decision as soon as practicable, after which there will be a reasonable period for those interested to submit representations, which the Secretary of State will carefully consider before reaching any final decision.