Evidenced and Collaborative Approach
Over the coming months, we will take on board Government’s feedback to this Interim Plan and undertake extensive work to examine the viability of potential options, their financial resilience and potential risks alongside the opportunity for public service reform underpinned by local
identity and all other considerations. From this process, we will identify the option that best meets the set criteria, and our own aims, and then develop a full proposal by the November deadline. We would aim to do this collaboratively with local authority partners and seek to build consensus where possible on a preferred option for the area.
We will also continue to engage with other local authorities that have moved to a single unitary structure to learn lessons both in transition and implementation but also in regard of the benefits and challenges the new structures may be facing.
Voice of local communities
We will co-design the full proposal, working closely with our partners in the public sector, particularly for example, the NHS, on proposals for adult and childrens social care arrangements and SEND Services and consider broader approaches to health and wellbeing.
This approach is critical to support our ambitions and service improvement journeys and deliver better outcomes for residents, public service reform and potential efficiencies.
We view town and parish councils and our national parks as key partners in co-design, bringing the voice of communities into the process and together we will consider how local councils may choose to have a greater role in future arrangements. Moving to a single unitary structure presents opportunities to recognise local place identities and through a broader devolution and localism approach develop new models of community engagement and locality working that can genuinely empower our neighbourhoods. We will equally engage with the VCSE Assembly in accordance with our Civic Agreement to work in partnership to improve the life chances of people in our communities.
Depending on the future model being developed, we would aim to work collaboratively with all 8 District Councils and Plymouth and Torbay unitary councils on the future local government arrangements to ensure that all councils have a full role in the next stages of the process.
Financial modelling
We will review the options for change, considering their different financial risk profiles and financial challenges. Any new model of local government must be designed to achieve financial resilience and sustainability, providing a stable financial foundation for local government in
Devon that delivers value for money, eliminates duplication, and reduces overhead costs.
Financial impacts would vary according to the proposed structure. Pooling finances, demand and differential tax base risks could create advantage or disadvantage with very different
financial risk profiles and financial sustainability challenges, with issues of scale potentially
affecting financially sustainability. Smaller unitary authorities could be exposed to risk from the business rates reset and impacts from national funding reform which may see further grant funding redistributed based on deprivation, and future council tax equalisation.
Further work is needed to understand how budgets and funding would be aggregated or
disaggregated under any of the two or three unitary authority options considered including the equalisation of Government grants and potential loss of scale.
Further work is needed to disaggregate countywide service costs to district areas to better quantify these risks and we have commissioned Pixel Financial Management to assist with this work based on 2025/26 settlement information.
Impact on People Services
We have commissioned Newton Europe to undertake research on people-based services which will help identify benefits and risks from aggregation and disaggregation of services and other
issues. This work is critical to understanding the potential costs and diseconomies of
disaggregating services which currently represent approximately 70% of net service costs across Devon. The analysis will cover all ages and include SEND, Childrens and Adults Social Care, Homelessness and Public Health.
Cost of Change and Scale of Efficiencies
We will work to estimate the costs of change and scale of efficiencies, the timing of these being realised, and how such transition costs could be funded. For example, the flexible use of capital receipts would be the contingency option and a mechanism to fund longer term, more fundamental transformation savings subject to business cases. Capital costs of transition and subsequent transformational change such as for service design, assets and systems optimisation, and service improvement will require investment that could increase borrowing costs. Further work is also needed on impacts on the workforce and associated costs from disaggregation.
Council tax harmonisation
Council tax harmonisation is a critical consideration in any local government reorganisation, ensuring fairness for residents while maintaining financial stability for the new authority(ies). Lessons from other local government reorganisations suggest that harmonisation can significantly impact both council revenues and taxpayer contributions.
Our approach to council tax harmonisation will be guided by the following principles:
- Equity for residents: A consistent and fair approach across all areas to avoid significant disparities in local taxation.
- Financial resilience: Ensuring that the transition does not unduly impact the financial position of the successor authority(ies) and secures a strong tax base for local services for the whole area.
- How to transition: Recognising that sudden changes to council tax rates can create financial strain for residents could require a phased approach however this would need to be considered against the risk of lost income that could undermine financial resilience of the new unitary structure.
- Provide time for efficiency savings from reorganisation to materialise, offsetting any initial shortfalls, whilst recognising that efficiencies will also be required to offset increasing pressures and demand.
Discussions with Government will be essential to agree on a harmonisation approach that balances financial sustainability with fairness for taxpayers. Further detailed modelling will be undertaken to assess the precise impacts of different scenarios before a final decision is reached.
Harmonisation of fees and charges
In addition to Council Tax harmonisation there will be a need to harmonise other fees and charges such as for specific refuse collection, planning applications, parking charges, leisure facilities or licensing. We will consider these issues in our detailed analysis in the next phase of activity and set this out in the full proposal submitted in November.
Policy and Funding Reforms
Full consideration will also be needed of the following policies and reforms and the impacts on the options considered. Assumptions and a clear rationale for these will need to be developed and we will work collaboratively with partners to agree a common set of assumptions, where possible. The scope of this work will include:
- Local Government Funding Reforms and Multi-Year Settlements
- Deprivation Methodology for investment and funding decisions
- The Comprehensive Spending Review
- SEND White Paper / Road Map
- Further Devolution Priority Programme Opportunities
- Review of Social Care by Dame Louise Casey
- Employment Rights Bill
Future public service reform opportunities
Reorganisation is an opportunity for major service reform both of council services, and through new alignment and partnership with the wider public sector. We have identified many opportunities to improve services and improve value for money. At a general level these include:
- Working together with partners across the whole county, we can bring together countywide strategies like adult social care and public health with local strategies such as leisure, housing and local plans.
- Simplifying future council services making them easier to access and use, for example, one front door, phone number and website replacing the current multitude of access points.
- Prevention should underpin the design of services in a unitary council, maximising the benefits of service integration in a single tier.
- Digital and data at large scale can underpin service delivery and facilitate preventative approaches. Effective use of data and insight will enable interventions to be targeted where they will achieve the most impact and will enable us to monitor and evaluate that impact, to improve services and overall value for money.
- Workforce resilience can be strengthened, through a reduction in local competition in an already challenging recruitment market, more consistent training and practice, along with broader career progression opportunities to enhance the employment offer.
- Artificial Intelligence can be used to support administration and service delivery to improve productivity and value for money.
Adult services
Local Government Reorganisation offers the opportunity to strengthen partnerships between adult social care with the NHS, addressing gaps that are created because Council and Health boundaries don’t currently align. This will allow better planning, market management and commissioning.
It will improve strategic working and the ability to meet resident needs more holistically by bringing together housing, community services strengthening the prevention offer.
Integration of housing and social care will also strengthen how we plan for the whole population, enhancing planning for supported housing, extra care schemes, and accessibility in new developments. This will enable us to support people to continue to live good lives in their communities and maximise the use of existing housing stock.
Devon already has the foundations of effective Community-Based Support by expanding local care networks, this will reduce reliance on institutional care and empower service users.
It will enable significant digital transformation using predictive analytics, telehealth, and a unified digital care record to improve efficiency and outcomes for people.
A unitary model will allow us to create a stronger Ageing Population Strategy, enabling proactive planning to support independence, reduce hospital admissions, and improve service access.
Homelessness and Housing Services
Local Government Reorganisation presents an opportunity to transform homelessness services by integrating housing, social care, and health support under a single authority. A unitary model enables a coordinated approach to prevention, faster response times, and streamlined access to temporary and permanent accommodation.
Improved data sharing across agencies will help identify at-risk individuals earlier, while better alignment with adult social care and mental health services ensures more effective long-term support. By reducing duplication and enhancing partnerships with the voluntary sector, a new unitary structure can deliver a more proactive, person-centred approach to tackling homelessness.
Bringing together strategic infrastructure, transport, school planning functions with local planning and housing services can help address the housing crisis across Devon, recognised by all 11 local authority partners. Options to join up functions would support a number of the recommendations identified in the nationally recognised Devon Housing Commission report and underpin current housing targets and delivery. The informal feedback we have received from the business community would support this opportunity. Examples of areas of reform include:
- Consistency across planning policies such as applying the relevant price paid for land rather than viability to support increasing house build numbers, and opportunity to develop a planning approach that can shape the types of housing brought forward.
- Working with the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority develop a Devon-wide Housing Strategy and implementation approach.
- A common approach to recruiting and retaining planners and a skilled workforce.
- Single approach to use of public sector assets, across the whole public sector, including purchasing power on an acquisition strategy to support options for accommodating vulnerable individuals.
- Single approach to developing construction skills to underpin house building numbers.
- Local community engagement and opportunities to bring forward community land trusts and other community-led approaches, aided by developing neighbourhood empowerment models of delivery.
- Improved data sharing leading to accurate demand and forecasting assumptions consistently applied underpinning infrastructure planning and growth strategies.
Children’s Services and SEND
A unitary structure across Devon would underpin securing and maintaining a permanent workforce and a single approach to supplementing this when needed with agency workers. Standard rates could lead to efficiencies across the system. Bringing together social services, education under a unitary structure, at the right scale with housing services would significantly improve supporting care leaver accommodation and transition planning. Bringing together
leisure centres, with bus services, harmonised council tax systems and employment policies under a unitary structure would provide a single and consistent Local Offer easily accessed and understood, covering access to transport, housing, leisure and council tax exemptions to our young people, foster families and young carers. It would remove data sharing barriers between revenue and benefits and social services and improve the use of data and knowledge to underpin needs assessments for placements and sufficiency planning and help implement auto enrolment of free schools’ meal, as two examples.
SEND sufficiency for families seeking both local placements close to home and placements that meet the needs of young people is one of the most challenging Local Government priorities facing both the County and across England. National reforms have been called for and will be recognised in an expected White Paper before July 2025. SEND will be a priority area for consideration in LGR.
Future governance
The Government is seeking early views on the proposed number of councillors for new authorities. In all the options appraised, a significant reduction in the number of councillors from the current arrangements will be achieved by removing representation at two tiers in the current Devon area. There are currently 328 district level councillors. The current number of councillors at the county and unitary levels shows significant variation in the average number of electors each councillor represents.
| Council | Population/electorate | Councillors | Cllr: electorate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Devon | 840,000 | 60 | 10,417 |
| Plymouth | 269,000 | 57 | 4,608 |
| Torbay | 139,500 | 36 | 2,872 |
We note from Local Government Boundary Commission and ONS data that 4,600 is the current average number of electors per councillor in unitary areas across England. However, the average current population size of unitary authorities at 265,000 is significantly smaller than the minimum population size of the unitary structure the Government is seeking to create in this process. It is therefore likely that larger councils will either require higher than average numbers of councillors, or that each councillor will have a significantly higher than average number of electors. The first scenario has an impact on costs, the second on representation.
We would welcome the Government’s further guidance on this point around balancing the need to achieve efficiencies in new arrangements, with the importance of effective representation and strong democratic governance.
On 25 February 2025, a workshop was facilitated for all Devon County Council Councillors, supported by our political group Leaders. This gave all councillors an opportunity to consider reorganisation, key issues and questions which would need to be addressed in the development of proposals.
All political Group leaders meet weekly at a Governance working group to consider the information gathered so far, pose questions and the information needed to enable further consideration of the ratio of elected members to the electorate.
This Group will continue to explore opportunities to grow localism by devolving resources, powers and decision making to town and parish councils where there is the will, capacity and capability to do so. We will continue to work collectively with town and parish councils and their representative body in Devon, the Devon Association of Local Councils. This work will also consider the experiences and new arrangements in other areas that have recently moved to a unitary model.
In liaison with political group leaders, our Cabinet has adopted an inclusive, participatory approach to evidence gathering and assessment on this topic.
Strategic Authority arrangements
In establishing the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority, we have demonstrated a collaborative approach to working with neighbouring councils, public sector partners and Whitehall. The council is already on the devolution journey and is now exploring the creation of a Mayoral Strategic Authority with Plymouth and Torbay. The council is committed to Cornwall Council joining our discussions at any time.
Strategic working with our neighbouring authorities is vital to achieve the council’s aims to maximise our economic potential, deliver investment, and create a stronger and more sustainable economy. The council is already working through the combined authority to support high growth business sectors such as marine engineering, defence, photonics and digital, as well as Devon’s traditional strengths of tourism, agritech and food production. Joint strategic working is also under way to address housing pressures, improve local transport and meet net zero ambitions.
A strategic authority across the whole of Devon and, potentially with Cornwall, would add significantly to the opportunity and potential of devolution. We have worked effectively across the three upper tier authorities and have a long tradition of collaboration with Cornwall at a sub- regional level. We will take forward these discussions in the coming months with our business education and public sector partners.
It will be important to ensure that the approach to the creation of a Strategic Authority aligns strongly with local government arrangements following the reorganisation process.
Safeguarding our heritage and culture
We are committed to ensuring that any future unitary local government structure reflects the historic and cultural identities of the county’s diverse communities. As part of the reorganisation process, we will work collaboratively with local stakeholders, including town and parish councils, heritage organisations, and community groups, across our rural, coastal and urban geography to safeguard and celebrate the unique character of Devon’s cities, towns, villages, and rural areas.
By incorporating a co-design approach to local governance, Devon will strengthen civic engagement, enhance place-based decision-making, and support the distinct traditions and identities that make each community unique. This will be achieved through a combination of strategic planning, tailored service delivery, and a commitment to preserving Devon’s rich heritage while creating a modern, effective, and financially resilient system of local government.
Public and Stakeholder engagement
At our Council meeting of 9 January 2025, Councillors emphasised the critical importance of engaging with communities on local government reform and considering any proposals from the perspective of residents and service users. We plan to run a comprehensive exercise to seek public views on the reorganisation and to test residents’ affiliation to place. During this time, we will focus on making sure that changes are right for local people, are developed collaboratively, and are implemented effectively.
There is a dedicated space on our website where we will provide regular updates, and where residents and organisations can share their views with us and via their local Councillor. We take an inclusive approach to listening to residents such as those with experience of the care system and will make specific plans to include these cohorts in engagement exercises. We plan further engagement over the coming months including the following groups:
| Stakeholder | Who | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Public | Residents, community leaders | Engagement, understanding, identity |
| District councils | Leader, CEO, S151 | Future options, data, service design |
| Unitary councils | Leader, CEO, S151 | Future options, data, service design |
| Staff | Key leads, front line workers | Service design Reassurance |
| Unions | All | Reassurance, staff messaging |
| MPs | All | Future options, service design, identity |
| Town and Parish Councils | Leaders, elected members, clerks & DALC | Future options, service design, identity |
| Voluntary Community Sector | Sector Leaders, VCSE Assembly | Understand challenges, service design, identity |
| Businesses – FSB/Chambers/CBI etc | CEO of major employers and Business Representative Organisations, including by sector and place | Understand challenges at present to growth, opportunities and future options, identity |
| Police & Crime Commissioner | Future options, Service design, identity | |
| Chief Constable | Future options, Service design | |
| Health service | ICB, Local Care Partnerships | Future options, Service design |
| Rescue services – fire/ambulance | CEOs | Future options, Service design |
| Further and Higher Education and schools | Vice Chancellors, Principal/heads | Support to young people and pathways to employment, training, future options and service design, identity |
| Environment Agency | Local lead | Future model |
| Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks | Chief Executive, Board | Future model and options, service design and identity |
| Neighbouring unitary authorities – Cornwall, Somerset, Dorset | Leaders/CEO | Cross border issues e.g. travel to work areas, devolution. Exmoor regarding Somerset |