Local Government: Reorganisation
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with refence to his Department's oral statement of 18 December 2025 on Local Government Reorganisation, Official Report col 1130, what analysis his Department has conducted on the viability of restructured Essex councils who are inheriting significant debts.
Answered by Alison McGovern
Councils were invited to submit proposals for unitary local government and for those proposals to include estimated costs and benefits. Exact costs and savings will vary, depending on proposals received and which proposals are implemented. The Government has consulted on four proposals from councils in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock. Decisions on the most appropriate option for each area will be judgements in the round, having regard to the guidance and the available evidence, including the responses to the consultation. As such, we will analyse and assess proposals against the criteria we have set out, which includes sustainability and withstanding financial shocks.
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