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

To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they will apply to "small unitary authorities" when assessing whether they will be expected to merge with other authorities.

The Minister for Local Government wrote to all councils in two-tier areas and neighbouring small unitaries on publication of the English Devolution White Paper on 16^th December to set out his ambitions and expectations in greater detail. In this letter the Minster set out his intention to formally invite unitary proposals in January 2025, and this invitation will set out further detail on the criteria that will be considered when taking decisions on proposals that are submitted to Government.