Unitary authorities for Gloucestershire

By Councillor Gill Moseley

What will local government look like after 2028?
The Forest of Dean District Council along with the other five Gloucestershire  councils (*) at the second-tier-level, will disappear.  They will be replaced by one or more unitary authorities.
There are many different models of English local government and the Labour government thinks that is too many:  
•    unitary county authorities, eg Herefordshire
•    two-tier, eg Gloucestershire 
•    Metropolitan authorities like Manchester with an elected mayor
•    Combined authorities without a mayor, eg Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
•    Combined authorities with a mayor, eg Greater Manchester
•    London Boroughs

In addition, some authorities have a leader/mayor cabinet system and others have a committee system.  The committee system will be abolished.  Also, unitary authorities will be required to join a mayoral combined authority through which government funding for major infrastructure will be delivered.  
Of the nations within the UK, England is the only country without a uniform system of local government.
For the residents, most people just want services delivered efficiently, communities supported and decisions made that reflect the views of the residents and business people.  The fact that only 20 -30% of those eligible usually take the trouble to vote in local elections is another story.  Nevertheless, local councillors try to do their best to represent their views in the face of ever-diminishing funding and the complex rules of the planning system, also due to be revised.
So after the ‘public engagement survey’  (July – Aug 25) created to seek opinions on which community you belong to, where you find the facilities you need and how effective you find the council services, the seven Gloucestershire councils will make the case (separately or together) using the information gathered for the three options:
1.    A unitary authority for the whole of Gloucestershire
2.    Two unitary authorities splitting the county in two: east (Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Cotswold) and west (Forest of Dean, Gloucester and Stroud)
3.    Two unitary authorities - Greater Gloucester and the rest of the county

So.  in November ‘25, proposals need to be submitted to the government which may include all of the above options.  Then in 2026, there will follow an official government consultation which will include the opportunity for the public to give their views.
Lastly, in the decision-making process, the government will decide which of the options to take forward.

Gloucestershire is not alone in being torn between various unitary proposals.  Some counties have devised as many as eleven options.
There is also the decision as to which mayoral combined authority to join. Those negotiations will run alongside the unitary options process. 
But that’s enough for now!
(*) Gloucester City, Tewkesbury Borough, Cheltenham Borough, Stroud District, and Costwold District Councils.