Local Government Reorganisation

Last year, the Government outlined plans for local government reorganisation for all two-tier areas (areas where services are delivered by two tiers of local government – a county council and city/borough/district councils - which includes Cambridgeshire) and for those unitary councils that are smaller or where there is evidence of failure.

Councils are now expected to develop proposals for the introduction of unitary (single tier) authorities across England, which will see the end to all existing two-tier arrangements.

Yes. Under the Government’s plans, ‘two-tier’ council areas like Cambridgeshire will see city/district and county councils replaced by unitary authorities.

For now, nothing has changed. Services will continue to be delivered as normal, and our priority remains delivering these services to the highest standard possible. It is expected that the new unitary authorities will take over from April 2028.

In a joint letter, signed by the Leaders of Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council, Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council, an initial response was submitted to Government on 21 March 2025. You can view the news article on the letter and a joint statement from the council leaders here.

For Cambridgeshire, more detailed proposals are due to be submitted by 28 November 2025. The Government has expressed an intention to deliver new unitary authorities by April 2028.

For Cambridgeshire, detailed proposals are due to be submitted to Government by 28 November 2025. We are working closely with other affected councils in Cambridgeshire to develop and submit a collective proposal.

The government has indicated that the new unitary authorities should have a population of around 500,000. To ensure we develop a sustainable and effective proposal, we are scrutinising the available evidence and data, taking into consideration key factors like historic community identities, the interests of residents, economic geographies, and local demographic representation.

We will engage with residents and partners on the proposals that we need to submit to Government by November 2025 and further information will be available in due course.

Town and parish councils are not currently part of the local government reorganisation. No direct impact is anticipated at this stage and there has been no suggestion that town and parish councils will be expected to assume any additional functions or services.

Huntingdonshire District Council has set its budget for the 2025/26 financial year. It is too early to indicate what might happen with regards to council tax levels in future years, or for when any new unitary authority is in place.

The impact on the elections in Huntingdonshire in 2026 is yet to be determined. The Government has, however, confirmed that once a proposal has been accepted and the necessary legislation is in place, they will work with councils to move to elections to new ‘shadow’ unitary councils as soon as possible.

We will regularly update this page as more information becomes available. The Local Government Association have also created a devolution hub which contains more detail.