The Leicestershire County Council convened an extraordinary meeting to address the critical matter of local government reorganisation (LGR). The primary focus was to allow the County Council to comment on the proposals for LGR, with a supplementary report containing a draft Business Case also provided. Councillors were also expected to discuss the comments of the Scrutiny Commission on the proposals.

Local Government Reorganisation Draft Business Case

The meeting was convened so that the council could discuss its proposals for local government reorganisation. The report pack included a Report of the Cabinet on the matter, and a supplementary report containing a draft business case.

The background to this was a letter received from the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution on 5 February 2025, which invited proposals for LGR, requiring an interim plan to be submitted before 21 March 2025.

The Cabinet Report included as Appendix A, noted that the deadline for submission of proposals was 28 November 2025, after which the government would undertake statutory consultation.

The Cabinet Report also summarised the council's previous position, including a motion agreed on 30 July, which stated that:

proposals for, or agreements to Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation made on behalf of Leicestershire County Council by the Leader and/or Cabinet and/or Chief Executive, be subject to debate by and a vote of Full Council before submission to the Government.

The report pack also contained a presentation to the Scrutiny Commission from 29 October 2025, which included the criteria for decision making, options considered, the financial case, benefits to service delivery, devolution opportunities, community engagement, democracy and governance, and implementation and transformation.

The presentation to the Scrutiny Commission noted that a number of options had been considered:

• Leicestershire County on the existing footprint, Leicester City on existing boundaries and excluding Rutland
• Single unitary council for Leicestershire and Rutland, with Leicester City retaining its existing boundaries
• Leicester City boundary expansion to the Principal Urban Area¹ (PUA). The remainder of Leicestershire and Rutland forming a single unitary council.
• Leicester City boundary expansion to include Oadby and Wigston Borough and Blaby District. The remainder of Leicestershire and Rutland forming a single unitary council.
• Leicester City boundary expansion to include Oadby and Wigston Borough. The remainder of Leicestershire and Rutland forming a single unitary council.
• Leicester City boundary expansion to include adjacent suburbs and built up areas, as described in Leicester City's interim plan. The remainder of Leicestershire and Rutland forming a single unitary council.
• Three unitary councils for LLR (Districts and Rutland Proposal)

The presentation also included a table of the estimated number of councillors under different options, noting that Boundary Commission guidance is that new authorities should have less than 100 councillors.

The report pack stated that, subject to any further comments made by members, the draft business case for Local Government Reorganisation be endorsed for submission to the Cabinet for final approval at its meeting on 25 November 2025.