What’s changing and why?
Major changes are planned to councils across Worcestershire as part of the biggest shake-up of local government in more than 50 years.
The Government wants to abolish all district and county councils in 21 areas across England by 1 April 2028 and replace them with fewer councils responsible for all services in a particular area.
There are two parts to the Government’s proposed changes:
Local Government Reorganisation: where the Government is looking to replace Bromsgrove District, Malvern Hills District, Redditch Borough, Worcester City, Worcestershire County, Wychavon District and Wyre Forest District Councils with fewer councils.
Devolution: where the Government is looking to transfer powers and funding to new Strategic Authorities (also called Combined Authorities) that cover a number of new council areas and are responsible for large projects such as transport, infrastructure, and economic development.
The Government believes reorganisation will deliver stronger local councils with the ability to drive economic growth, improve local public services and empower their communities.
They also believe replacing district and county councils with unitary councils will speed up decision-making, save money and make it easier for the public to understand who is responsible for what service in their area.
Crucially, the Government sees reorganisation as an important first step towards their wider ambition of devolution for England.
You can read the Government’s devolution white paper for more information.