Government urged to pause councils shake-up

The government wants to scrap all 15 local councils in Lancashire and replace them with larger authorities

The government has been asked to delay a councils shake-up that will axe all of Lancashire's local authorities, amid a warning key services could be at risk if the process was "rushed".

Lancashire County Council's leader Stephen Atkinson and opposition group leaders have written to Whitehall calling for the change to take place over a longer period.

The existing 15 authorities would be disbanded in April 2028, but a letter to local government secretary Steve Reed – seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) – requests it be held off until 2029 or 2030.

The government wants to replace the councils with larger unitary authorities, which would provide all services under an elected mayor.

The letter warns ministers against redrawing council maps across almost two dozen different parts of the country in one go, urging taking more time to consider the implications – including the "viability" of social care services – in areas of greater size and "complexity", like Lancashire.

The overhaul would mean merging existing council geographies to create a handful of new unitary authorities to serve the whole county – but Lancashire's leaders have acknowledged there was no consensus locally over which places should merge.

Lancashire – along with 20 other English counties – has been given a deadline of 28 November to present a proposal to the government.

It is likely to submit as many as five different suggestions ranging between the creation of two and five new councils, with two versions of how the four-authority option could look.

'Vulnerable residents'

However, the 8 October letter to Mr Reed urged him to focus on delivering local government reorganisation in areas that would be a simpler than in Lancashire, the LDRS said.

The letter was signed by Reform UK's Mr Atkinson, the leader and deputy leader of the Progressive Lancashire main opposition group, Azhar Ali and Green Gina Dowding, Conservative group leader Aidy Riggott and Gordon Johnson of the Our West Lancashire contingent on the authority.

It warned of the serious impact the changes could have on adult and children's social care – as well as services for youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – if they were implemented in haste.

The letter stated the change threatened the "viability and ability to deliver safe and legal provision to our most vulnerable residents".

The BBC has asked the ministry of local government and communities for a comment.