Content

The Leader updated Cabinet on two good news
stories which he was proud to share including:
 
·        
A new leukaemia therapy available in the UK changing lives and
benefitting many patients, had been developed and produced by the
Stevenage based company Autolus.
·        
Stevenage Borough Council and the English Cities Fund had signed a
development agreement to start the Stevenage Station Gateway, a
billion pound project which would fundamentally change the station
and surrounding areas.
 
The Leader then presented an urgent Part I
report, which addressed a significant matter arising from the
Government’s ongoing programme of Local Government
Reorganisation (LGR) following the publication of the English
Devolution White Paper in December 2024.
 
The Leader advised that the report was urgent
as the Government’s letter on local elections and Local
Government Reorganisation required a response by 15 January and
that this meeting was the first available opportunity for Cabinet
to consider the matter. Additional guidance and FAQs were also
published by Government on 6 January, which informed this report,
alongside legal advice on the appropriate decision?making
process.
 
The Leader reminded Cabinet that the elections
would not be postponed until the Government had made the decision
to do so.
 
Members made a number of comments on the
report:
 

·        
It would be the Government’s decision to postpone the local
elections not Stevenage Borough Council;

·        
It was noted that across the country, whenever councils were being
replaced by another authority, the elections to a local council in
the year before elections to a new council were usually
postponed;

·        
Councils from a number of the major political parties were asking
for postponement;

·        
Postponing the elections would let the council focus on delivering
services, and prepare for the transfer to the new authority instead
of running an election that would engage up to 200 council staff
members who would be working on delivering this change;

·        
Elections would take up three or four months when the work to
reorganise 11 councils in terms of the financial, staffing and
service complexity should be underway;

·        
No councillor of any party would be getting their term extended
beyond  a four year term, so there would
continue to be full and fair representation for residents;

·        
Concern was expressed for Council teams including IT who would have
to support the transition as well as the day-to-day running of the
councils;

·        
County services such as Education and SEN would be coming under the
remit of the new Unitary authorities and it was essential that
children had access to the opportunities available to them, holding
the elections could impact on the transfer of these services.
 
Following further debate, the Leader
summarised the points raised by Members and it was
RESOLVED:
 
1. 
That the letter from the Minister of State for Local Government and
Homelessness on 18 December 2025, inviting councils in
reorganisation areas where elections are planned for 2026 to give
their views on potential postponement of local elections in their
areas be noted.

2. 
That a response be submitted with comments on the capacity to
manage the transition to new unitary authorities by April 2028 and
a request that the local elections scheduled for May 2026 be
postponed by one year.

3. 
That authority be delegated to the Leader of the Council to submit
a response to the Minister’s invitation by 15 January
2026.