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England devolution faces delays from local authority reorganization and legal reviews
The plan to create hundreds of unitary authorities is being slowed by judicial reviews, and councils are seeking clarity on how debts will be split among the new entities.
The Guardian Economics warns that England’s devolution push, led by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, is likely to be both messy and slow due to political and administrative hurdles around transferring money and decision-making power from Whitehall.
The outlet says devolution arrangements are expected to be piecemeal, beginning with a deal for Cornwall that it argues lacks the “driving force” promised by a new mayor, and it points to complications following Housing Secretary Angela Rayner’s restructuring of local government.
According to The Guardian Economics, Rayner’s creation of hundreds of unitary authorities is entangled in judicial reviews, leaving uncertainty over how debts accumulated by councils over the past decade will be divided among successor bodies.
The outlet adds that some councils have written to Rayner seeking clarity about government decisions, including Hertfordshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme, and it notes that Essex plans to be divided into five unitary authorities after Whitehall recommendations for three were overruled, with an intended timeline that includes resolutions by Christmas and elections in 2029.