Purpose

Background

Councils across England have been engaged in a process of Local
Government Reorganisation (LGR) since December 2024, following the
publication of the English Devolution White Paper. The
Government’s devolution agenda aims to create a new network
of strategic authorities for the whole of England by 2029. LGR is
required as a precursor to devolution in some areas –
replacing two-tier county and district
councils and small unitary authorities with much larger unitary
councils, which can then be grouped to form strategic authorities
with an Elected Mayor. Councils cannot opt out of this process,
with national legislation being put in place to ensure
progress.

On 5th February 2025 the Minister of State for Local Government and
English Devolution wrote to the Leaders of Rutland County Council,
and the two-tier councils and unitary council in Leicestershire
(LLR) formally inviting them to work together to develop a proposal
for local government reorganisation for their area. Two unitary
authorities, Rutland County Council and Leicester City Council,
were included in the LLR invitation area, together with the
two-tier authorities of Leicestershire County
Council, Blaby District Council, Charnwood Borough Council,
Harborough District Council, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council,
North West Leicestershire District Council, Oadby and Wigston
Borough Council and Melton Borough Council.

Following this process Rutland was included in three final
proposals for local government reorganisation:

a. “North, City, South” developed collaboratively by
Rutland County Council and Leicestershire Districts and
Boroughs.
b. Leicester City Council’s proposal for two unitary
authorities, one incorporating Rutland with Leicestershire and the
other a City Council with an enlarged geographical footprint.
c. Leicestershire County Council’s proposal for two unitary
authorities, one incorporating Rutland with Leicestershire and the
other a City Council with an unchanged geographical
footprint.

Cabinet Decision

Cabinet on 21 November agreed the North-City-South proposal for
Local Government Reorganisation most strongly met the statutory
criteria and provided the best means of ensuring long-term
financial sustainability and high quality, sustainable public
services for Rutland.

Cabinet also endorsed that proposal for submission to the Secretary
of State and delegated authority to the Chief Executive, in
consultation with the Leader of the Council, to continue working
with the Leicestershire District and Borough Councils, to agree and
finalise the document and then submit the final proposal to the
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
prior to the 28 November 2025 deadline.

Changes to Proposal following consideration by Scrutiny and Council
meetings of Rutland County Council and the seven District/Borough
Councils of Leicestershire

Finance & Transition

Concerns were raised about the pace of prevention savings, clarity
on IT transition costs and disaggregation costs.

The financial model was strengthened by updating assumptions
including clearer IT transition costs, increased disaggregation
estimates, and a phased approach to prevention investment supported
by sensitivity analysis for risk management.

Governance & Representation

Questions were raised about ward sizes affecting community
identity, councillor workload and allowances, parish council
splits, and the need for strong accountability and scrutiny
mechanisms post-transition.

Governance improvements focused on making the proposal clearer and
more locally responsive by rewriting the foreword to emphasize
scrutiny’s role, clarifying democratic representation ratios,
and adding detail on ward boundaries and neighbourhood hubs to
strengthen community identity and accountability.

Neighbourhood & Prevention Model

Feedback questioned the evidence base and scalability of the
prevention model, including it’s impact on adult and
children’s social care.

The proposal was strengthened by reinforcing the credibility of the
prevention approach through additional evidence, real-world case
studies, and a clearer rationale for neighbourhood partnerships to
demonstrate scalability and community impact.

Operational & Service Delivery
Concerns focused on the complexity of aggregating and
disaggregating services, risks in contract transition, unclear HQ
locations, and IT systems harmonisation.

The proposal was enhanced to provide greater clarity and assurance
on implementation by expanding details on service aggregation and
disaggregation, while strengthening the transition plan.

Economic & Growth

Issues included clarity on housing targets, infrastructure and
highways delivery risks and the need to demonstrate economic
distinctiveness and devolution benefits, including for the
City.

The proposal was strengthened by clarifying housing targets,
improving transparency on population data sources, and reinforcing
the case for economic distinctiveness and devolution benefits to
demonstrate long-term growth potential. A summary of Leicester
City’s prosperity without boundary changes through was also
added.

Cultural and Ceremonial County Status

Ceremonial county status was underrepresented, and key references
to tourism and cultural heritage were missing from the
proposal.

A new Section on tourism, heritage, and culture was added and we
revised how Ceremonial County status was represented in the
document to ensure visibility and alignment with
expectations.

Communications & Evidence

Issues were raised about consultation responses, lack of clear
graphics and case studies, evidence base for key assumptions, and
transparency in comparing proposals.

The proposal was strengthened by adding an executive summary and
comprehensive appendices for criteria, financial analysis, case
studies, Testimonials and Letters of Support. We also improved
overall presentation through corrections and enhanced graphics for
clarity.

Decision

To agree and finalise the North-City-South
proposal with the changes set out in the Background, and then
submit the final proposal to the Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government prior to the 28 November 2025
deadline.

Alternative options considered

The alternative option would be to decline to
submit a proposal. However this was not the approach approved by
Cabinet on 21 November 2025.

Other Authorities will include Rutland in their proposals in any
event and if Rutland County Council were to fail to have agency it
would expose Rutland to the risk of having no say in its own
future.