Portsmouth Council's Cabinet is scheduled to meet on 25 September 2025 to discuss a proposal for local government reorganisation and a recommendation regarding Havant Borough Council joining the Building Control Partnership. The meeting will also include a review of the previous decision meeting held on 22 July 2025.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Cabinet will be asked to consider the council's position on Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) in light of a statutory invitation from the Secretary of State.

The report pack includes a draft of a letter from Councillor Steve Pitt, Leader of the Council (with portfolio responsibility for Culture, Regeneration & Economic Development), to the Secretary of State, requesting that Portsmouth City Council be excluded from the LGR process. The letter argues that Portsmouth is a successful unitary authority and that residents overwhelmingly support remaining separate from any larger council. The draft letter states:

In a recent survey of our residents, with a response rate of nearly 4,000 people, 82% of respondents stated that they wanted Portsmouth City Council to remain on its own and not be part of any larger council.

The letter also raises concerns about the financial viability of any new unitary authority, given the budget deficit facing Hampshire County Council¹. It notes that KPMG's case for LGR does not account for this deficit. The report pack states that if the government insists on including Portsmouth in LGR, the council should state its preference for Option 1A, a boundary change request, as the least detrimental option. Option 1A is detailed in the document titled Close enough to be local, big enough to stay strong , which is included as Appendix 3 to LGR report. The report pack notes that this option:

has a greater potential to drive housing and economic growth across both of the new proposed South Hampshire unitaries brings together similar communities with strong relationships to the two south-coast cities reflects existing travel-to-work, transport and public service access patterns (health and education).

The report pack includes several appendices providing background information on the LGR process, including:

• Correspondence between Councillor Steve Pitt and the Government on LGR
• The 5th February Letter that issued the Statutory Invitation
• Interim plan approved by all 15 Councils March 2025

Building Control Partnership

The Cabinet will be asked to consider a recommendation to enter into an agreement with Havant Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council and Gosport Borough Council for the delivery of building control functions through the Building Control Partnership (BCP).

The BCP currently consists of Gosport Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council and Portsmouth City Council. According to the report pack, Havant Borough Council approached the BCP in early 2025 to request joining the partnership. The report pack states that the objective of the enlarged partnership would be to provide an enhanced and resilient service at a lower cost. Benefits to Portsmouth City Council are expected to include:

• A larger staff base of registered building inspectors
• More experienced building inspectors to assist with training
• A more consistent service to joint clients operating across all four council areas
• Increased opportunities to secure large projects
• Sharing of management costs

The main administration office would remain at the Depot offices, Broadcut, Wallington². The report pack states that all existing Havant Borough Council building control staff will transfer into Fareham Borough Council employment, in line with the current BCP arrangement. Havant Borough Council currently uses an IT system called IDocs Cloud, which is different from the Ocella system used by BCP. Havant Borough Council will continue to use IDocs Cloud, and existing BCP staff will be given access to the system.

The report pack includes the BCP Panel minutes 27 February 2025 and a Letter of Comfort to HBC.