In February the government set out its plans for local government reorganisation. For Hampshire and the Isle of Wight this would mean replacing Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council and all the district and borough councils, including our council, with unitary councils of population sizes of around 500,000, although lower numbers will be considered. The aim is to make it clear to residents and businesses who is responsible for all local government services in an area and allow a more holistic and joined up approach to providing services with the aim of ensuring better outcomes for local people.
On Wednesday 5 February, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that all 21 two tier authorities across England – where there are county and district authorities – would be invited to submit proposals for new unitary councils. An outline plan should be submitted in March and a full proposal submitted in late September.
This will see the responsibilities and structures of the councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight reconfigured.
Basingstoke and Deane is part of a two-tier structure which the government wishes to move away from to simplify local government for residents.
Basingstoke and Deane is a district council and is responsible for determining planning applications, collecting rubbish and recycling, keeping your streets clean and tidy, allocating affordable housing and homelessness prevention, licensing and other services and activities.
As the upper tier authority, Hampshire County Council is responsible for services including schools, social services, public transport, highways, waste disposal, trading standards and more.
The creation of new unitary councils would mean all these responsibilities would be merged and delivered by new unitary councils for each area of Hampshire.
The government has set out the criteria for new unitary authorities including they should be responsible for a population of around 500,000 people, although there may be exceptions to this if new structures make sense for a specific area.
Basingstoke and Deane has a population of over 185,000 and is working alongside neighbouring authorities to draw up proposals for new unitary authorities within the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight area that will drive economic growth for the area and best deliver services and meet the government’s criteria for reorganisation.
Outline proposals for what the new unitary authorities could look like need to be submitted to the government by 21 March and a final proposal submitted by 26 September.
We are working with other councils to look at the options for the future of local government in Hampshire, considering what would work best within the parameters set by the government.
We want to ensure the proposals put forward are in the best interests of the people in Basingstoke and Deane and do not compromise the ability of residents to shape their local priorities in the future.
Under the current timetable, final proposals put forward will be considered by the government in early 2026. New unitary councils will then take over from either April 2027 or April 2028.
To meet the deadline for submitting initial plans to the government on 21 March, councils in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight considered local government reorganisation as part of their own decision-making processes.
In Basingstoke and Deane, our Cabinet met on Tuesday 18 March and agreed to:
A meeting of Council also took place on Thursday 20 March where all of our borough councillors had the opportunity to discuss the same recommendations.
Read the Cabinet report and view the meeting
Read the Council report and view the meeting
Read more about Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s recommended option for four unitary councils
Local government reorganisation is the process in which the structure and responsibilities of local authorities are reconfigured. The government has set out plans to move away from the current two-tier system of district and county councils. It has indicated that for most areas this will mean creating unitary councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis.
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. Local government reorganisation is about how the responsibilities and funding that sit with local government are organised between councils.
The government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures, which make it much clearer for residents who they should look to on local issues, alongside more strategic decisions to unlock growth and deliver more joined up services for communities. The government believes that devolution over a large strategic geography, alongside local government reorganisation, can drive economic growth while delivering optimal public services.
The government has indicated that it intends new unitary authorities to take over from existing councils in either April 2027 or April 2028.
All of the same services would still be provided, but by newly-formed unitary authorities across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight instead of the 15 councils that currently cover the area – one county council, three unitary authorities and 11 district councils.
Those councils are Hampshire County Council, Portsmouth City Council, Southampton City Council, Isle of Wight Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, East Hampshire District Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, Fareham Borough Council, Gosport Borough Council, Hart District Council, Havant Borough Council, New Forest District Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council.
The final decision on how local government will be structured in Hampshire and Isle of Wight in the future will lie with central government. We expect this to be decided in early 2026.
Unitary authorities are a single tier of local government responsible for all local services in an area. They may cover a whole county, part of a county or a large town or city. For example, London boroughs are all unitary authorities.
This is still to be discussed and agreed between the current 15 councils and the government.
There are many other areas of the country that have unitary authorities rather than county and district councils, including London, Manchester, Leeds, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, Dorset, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Somerset, Swindon, and Wiltshire.
Parish and town councils will not be affected structurally by the changes. They will not be abolished.
The government’s white paper states that local government plays an essential role in convening local partners around neighbourhoods to ensure that community voices are represented, and people have influence over their place and their valued community assets.
While we move forward with local government reorganisation, working alongside the other authorities within Hampshire and Isle of Wight, we will continue to deliver the very best services we can for our residents.
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