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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his Department considers the minimum population size to be for a newly-established unitary authority for that authority to achieve (a) value for money and (b) quality service delivery.

The Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper to be published this Autumn will set out our transformative plans for economic recovery and renewal, and for levelling up opportunity, prosperity, and well-being across the country. Whilst traditionally various population ranges for unitary councils have been referred to, where a unitary council is proposed its particular circumstances need to be considered when assessing whether its population would be appropriate.