The role of local government in reaching net zero
A general debate on the role of local government in delivering net zero is scheduled for Monday 5 June. The debate, selected by the Backbench Business Committee, will be led by Wera Hobhouse MP.

A briefing on unitary local government in England, proposals for creating new unitary authorities, Government policy, historical practice, and academic analysis
Unitary local government (499 KB , PDF)
This briefing paper provides a guide to the concept of ‘unitary local government’, in the context of debates over local government restructuring in England in 2019 and 2020.
Section 1 sets out the legal procedure through which unitary authorities are created and provides a brief history of political debates and the creation of unitary authorities since 1974. Section 2 assesses Government policy on the topic of restructuring and unitary authorities since 2010. Section 3 provides details of previous rounds of restructuring in England, including details of the July 2021 announcements on Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset.
Section 4 sets out details of reports modelling the potential savings that could be achieved by such changes, plus the figures that are available from previous restructuring processes in England. Section 5 provides details of proposals for new unitary authorities in England that have emerged during 2019 and 2020, together with related commentary.
Section 6 notes a number of the rationales for restructuring, and for merger of smaller authorities into larger units, that have occurred in recent debates in England. A small amount of debate has also taken place on how to achieve the benefits associated with restructuring through alternative means: this is set out in section 7. Section 8 provides details of international academic research on the topic of local government mergers and reforms.
As Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have entirely single-tier systems of local government, this paper covers England only.
Unitary local government (499 KB , PDF)
A general debate on the role of local government in delivering net zero is scheduled for Monday 5 June. The debate, selected by the Backbench Business Committee, will be led by Wera Hobhouse MP.
This briefing summarises the results of the 2023 local elections in England and Northern Ireland, when Labour and Sinn Fein became the largest parties in local government.
Local authorities in England spent £107 billion in 2021/22. This briefing looks at the funding that local authorities receive from central government, and where and how they spend it.