Rutland County Council has sought to clarify its position regarding devolution and local government reorganisation, as it awaits further guidance from government following the publication of new national proposals in December.
The Council remains clear about the need to engage constructively and proactively in response to the government’s proposals around devolution and local government reorganisation.
Discussions are still ongoing between Rutland County Council, Leicestershire County Council, Leicester City Council and Leicestershire’s District Councils about how best to enable devolution and shape these plans across our areas. Nothing has been decided yet.
“We believe it’s important that equal weight and consideration be given to all options, as we consider things like boundaries. It’s also important that clear evidence is weighed up around the benefits of these options, before adopting any new arrangements.
“Reorganising local government has the potential to deliver efficiencies and there is a need to ensure councils are sustainable. However, the success of a council is heavily influenced by the critically important relationship between scale and physical geography. We cannot dismiss this. Councils work best when their boundaries reflect the way people live their lives, where they go to work, learn, shop, spend their leisure time and get healthcare.”
Councillor Gale Waller, Leader of Rutland County Council
Rutland County Council is awaiting further correspondence from the government, setting out criteria for what it considers to be sustainable unitary structures and when proposals should be submitted.
Local authorities have until 10 January to submit a request to postpone their local elections. This does not affect Rutland because the authority is not due to hold full council elections until 2027.
