The Leicestershire County Council Cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss the local government reorganisation business case, and any items referred from Overview and Scrutiny. The meeting was also scheduled to cover any urgent items, and declarations of interest from those present.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Cabinet were scheduled to consider a report regarding the County Council's business case for local government reorganisation (LGR) in Leicestershire. The report recommended that the Cabinet approve the business case for submission to the government by the deadline of 28 November 2025. It also recommended authorising the Chief Executive, John Sinnott, following consultation with the Leader, the Director of Corporate Resources, Declan Keegan, and the Director of Law and Governance, Lauren Haslam, to make any necessary amendments to the business case before it is submitted to the Government, provided that these do not change the underlying principles of the business case as presented in the report.

The report noted that the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution had invited all local authorities in remaining two-tier areas and neighbouring unitary authorities to develop a proposal for LGR, with final proposals to be submitted to the Government by 28 November 2025.

The report stated that the Scrutiny Commission received a presentation which provided an outline of the business case at its meeting on 29 October. It also stated that members expressed disappointment that limited detail had been provided at the meeting and requested the opportunity to scrutinise the business case prior to it being considered by the full Council on 12 November.

The Scrutiny Commission further considered the draft business case at its meeting on 10 November, where the following points were raised:

• The options appraisal is cluttered and could be streamlined by removing a couple of options.
• Reconsider the appraisal of the three unitary option in the options appraisal.
• Strengthen the following points:
  • That administrative boundaries should not be changed where there is no service benefit in doing so.
  • That Rutland's culture and heritage will be protected and that reorganisation will result in the creation of a new authority with a new culture and ethos.
  • That there is no political support for the expansion of Leicester City Council's boundaries.
  • The reference to keeping service points in localities.
  • The additional services that Parish Councils could choose to take on, clarifying that it is up to them and adding reference to the existing quality standard.
• Provide detail on how planning decisions will be taken.
• Include a table with key facts to demonstrate the relative sizes of the existing authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
• Include reference to the preference for single member wards for the new authority.
• Give a sense of area committee boundaries.
• Acknowledge that, whilst Rutland Council may choose to look elsewhere, the County Council believes that Leicestershire is the best fit for it.
• Request a referendum if the Government is minded to implement an option that includes an expansion of the City Council boundaries.
• Include information from the Council's Annual Delivery Report.
• Include evidence of confusion felt by the public over which council to contact.
• Explain the expected population growth over the next decade.
• Make the document more visually appealing.

The supplementary report was scheduled to include details of how the Scrutiny Commission's comments have been responded to. The Scrutiny Commission also considered rebuttal notes relating to criticism of the County Council made by the district councils in their business case. Members agreed that these should be addressed, and the County Council's response could be referenced in the executive summary of the business case. Members further agreed that the two rebuttals within the Commission's agenda pack should be on public record.

The report also noted that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has the power under Part 1 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007¹ to invite proposals for a single tier of local government. The Government's policy on the reorganisation of local government in current two-tier areas into unitary authorities was set out in the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024. It set out how the Government plans to deliver its manifesto pledge to transfer power out of Westminster through devolution and to fix the foundations of local government.

The County Council at its meeting on 2 July 2025 agreed that it considered that a north/south split of the County (proposed by district councils and Rutland Council) would have a significant risk to the stability of countywide services, particularly social care, would cause unnecessary disaggregation of services, and that it was unable to support that proposal. The Council's resolution also noted that there was joint agreement with the City Council that the best option for reorganisation in Leicester and Leicestershire is a two unitary model; one City, one County.

The County Council on 12 November endorsed the draft business case. It also agreed to oppose any expansion of the boundaries of Leicester City Council and that, should the Government be minded to implement an expansion, a referendum should take place on the matter.

The report stated that there are no resource implications arising from the recommendation in this report, and that work completed to date on LGR has been delivered using internal resources. However, LGR will be a significant undertaking that will have a significant impact on the Council's financial position in future years.

The report noted that the Government's long-term vision is for simpler structures, which will provide clarity for residents, with fewer politicians able to focus on delivering high quality and sustainable services to residents.

The Government expects that reorganisation will lead to long-term savings and efficiencies through:

• Reduced duplication of services and administrative overheads.
• More coherent strategic planning and service alignment.
• Better use of resources across larger, more capable authorities.

The report also noted that Leicestershire is seen as a 'devolution desert', surrounded by mayoral combined authorities in the 'East Midlands', Lincolnshire, and the West Midlands. It stated that discussions on progressing reorganisation should take the prize of devolution fully into account, and that the Government will only consider devolution once a new unitary structure is in place.

The deadline for submission of unitary proposals is 28 November 2025. Following this, the Government will undertake statutory consultation on the proposals submitted by an area, with or without modification. It is expected that the consultation would be launched in the new year and would close after the local elections in May.

The report stated that the Council will adopt a strategic approach to conducting Equality Impact Assessments during all programme phases and stages, and that there are no human rights implications arising from the report.