Skip to main content

Agenda item

Local Government Reorganisation - Structural Changes Order

Purpose

To consider representations to government on aspects of the Structural Changes Order.

 

Accountable Member

Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council.

 

Report Author

Jane Portman, Chief Executive Officer.

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to outline the governance, legal framework, and key arrangements for the Gloucestershire Structural Changes Order (SCO), and to seek Cabinet’s agreement to submit representations to Government on behalf of Cotswold District Council.

The Chair advised members to focus on the following three questions:

·         Preparing Authority or New Shadow Authority.

·         Should political balance be applied to the Implementation Executive / Joint Committee?

·         The name of the new council or councils.

 

The report was introduced by Councillor Mike Evemy, Leader of the Council and Jane Portman, Chief Executive Officer who highlighted the following points:

·         Cabinet needed to consider the three proposed scenarios in advance of the Government announcement expected on 16 June.

·         Not all of the questions for each scenario may ultimately require a response or a formal view to be expressed.

 

In questioning and discussion, the following points were noted:

·         There was concern about the capacity of officers and political leaders to respond within the timeframe.

·         There had been broad consensus at the leaders’ meeting across most of the questions, with potential differences on the preparing vs shadow authority model and the naming of any new authority.

·         The proposed structure for the Implementation Executive / Joint Committee was six representatives from the County Council and one from each of the district councils in Gloucestershire. Application of political balance would be a matter for the County Council to determine from amongst representatives.

·         The Implementation Executive / Joint Committee would operate from the point the SCO came into effect until the elections for the new unitary council/s.

·         In the event of a single unitary authority, the most straightforward name would be “Gloucestershire Unitary.” For a two-unitary model, the proposed names were “East Gloucestershire” and “West Gloucestershire”.

  • The warding arrangements for any new unitary/unitaries had been set out in the proposals submitted to MHCLG on 28 November 2025, and there was no current indication of councillor-level issues being raised in relation to those arrangements. The draft SCO would be laid before Parliament, with councils given the opportunity to fact-check its contents prior to laying, expected in winter 2026 ahead of implementation.

·         Initial arrangements would provide two councillors per County Council division, with an intention that during the first term of the new council a boundary review would be undertaken. There would be a move towards single-member divisions at the second election of the new authority, scheduled for 2032.

 

Recommendations:

1.    Membership of the Implementation Executive / Joint Committee
Each district council will appoint its own representative, with the County Council determining the political balance of its six representatives.

2.    Naming of New Authorities; That Cabinet note indicative support for:

·         “Gloucestershire Council” if a single unitary was created.

·         “East Gloucestershire” and “West Gloucestershire” if a two-unitary model was adopted.

·         No view was expressed on the Greater Gloucester and Gloucestershire option.

3.    Timetable for Response:

Given the constrained timetable, Cabinet should prepare a proportionate and focused response to the consultation, concentrating on the most significant issues.

4.    Preparing authority vs shadow authority: The Committee noted the options without expressing a preference, acknowledging the model may depend on whether a single or two unitary councils are created.

Supporting documents:

 

Related Pages