Birketts is at the forefront of the rapidly evolving landscape of devolution and local government reorganisation. With deep-rooted sector expertise, our multi-disciplinary team is ideally placed to provide the strategic support that our clients need to deliver change.
The Government announced detailed proposals for Devolution in December 2024 with the publication of the English Devolution White Paper policy paper. Government intention is to create in law a new concept of the Strategic Authority which will bring more than one local authority together over a large geographic area. Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities will unlock further devolution with Mayors stated to be the Government’s strong preference. Details of the powers and areas of competence of Strategic Authorities were published on 10 July this year in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
Alongside Devolution, Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is underway with the Government expecting local authorities operating within traditional two-tier structures to reorganise into single tier unitary authorities. For priority areas, the process of unitarisation is underway, with proposals due to be submitted to the Government at the end of September 2025. Unitarisation will proceed through the well-established process provided for in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and associated regulations. The Government’s indicative timetable indicates that for most priority areas, decisions as to which unitarisation proposal to implement are expected to be made in March 2026.
Birketts offers a full range of services to local authorities to embrace these changes in local government including:
- governance and process (unitarisation)
- devolved powers (including elected mayors)
- employment
- property and assets (asset transfers, restructuring)
- contracts (transitional arrangements)
- intellectual property and data
For further details on the process and key questions, see our Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation FAQs.
If you have any queries or would like advice on any of the matters referenced on this page please contact Ruth Neave and Claire Jones.
Key Contacts
