Our vision for ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø is a place of thriving communities and businesses, creative heritage in the arts and, of course, beautiful countryside. It is undeniably a brilliant place to live, work, learn and visit. But for some, life can be challenging. That is why we need more affordable and better local government for the people of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. We need to simplify the system, save money and improve engagement with local communities to ultimately improve lives.
In recent years we’ve seen rapid increases in service demand, challenges for the national economy and changes to our climate, alongside a reduction in funding. Our plan for two unitary councils, with a Mayor, will create stronger, simpler and more sustainable local government to give ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø an even brighter future.
How local government is structured now
There are changes coming to ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø through devolution and Local Government Reorganisation. Before we explain these, let’s look at how ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø is currently structured.
ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø has a two-tier system of local government: the county council and 11 district and borough councils. The county council is responsible for services such as adult social care and childrens services across the county, whereas the districts and boroughs provide services in their area. Some functions are shared between county and district.
Find out more about the responsibilities of each type of council on our county, district and parish council functions page.
What is devolution?
Last December 2024, central government published a paper to set out its approach on devolution – transferring more powers from government to local or regional authorities.
They proposed that each area should elect Mayors where they don’t currently have them – like ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø. This approach means tha