What is LGR?
Understanding the Government’s plan to simplify councils across England
Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) is a national programme designed to modernise how local councils work across England. The Government believes that local government needs to be simpler, more resilient, and better able to deliver high-quality public services. Many parts of the country still use older systems based on structures created in the 1970s, with separate district and county councils that divide responsibility and create duplication.
The English Devolution White Paper, published in December 2024, set out a clear direction: the Government intends to abolish two-tier systems like Devon’s and replace them with single-tier unitary councils.
Devon has now been formally asked to submit proposals for how it intends to reorganise itself into a single tier. Exeter City Council’s four-unitary proposal is a response to that invitation.
This section explains what LGR is, why it is happening, and how the Government will assess proposals.
Why is the Government changing local government structures?
The Government’s reasons fall into four broad areas:
1. Simpler systems for residents
The current two-tier system confuses people. Many residents don’t know which council does what, and essential services can fall between organisational gaps. A single-tier system removes that confusion entirely - one council, one point of contact, one set of responsibilities.
2. Better service quality
When services such as roads, housing, planning, social care, waste and transport are split between different councils, coordination is harder. Bringing them together under one authority enables more consistent standards and better long-term planning.
3. Financial resilience
District councils are increasingly struggling with rising costs, especially in rural areas with ageing populations. The Government believes larger unitary councils offer stronger, more resilient funding bases and can reduce duplication by streamlining management, systems and budgets.
4. Supporting devolution
To devolve powers and funding for transport, skills, housing and economic growth, Government wants clear, strategic partners. A two-tier system makes this harder - a smaller number of larger unitary councils makes it easier for Government to invest confidently and at scale.
What does the Government require from LGR proposals?
The Government has six clear criteria that all proposals must meet. These are drawn from the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, the Devolution White Paper, and guidance provided to councils early in 2025.
Exeter’s proposal fully meets all six.
Below is a plain-English explanation of each criterion.
1. A single tier of local government for the area
The new system must completely replace the current two-tier model. Each area must have only one council delivering every local service - housing, roads, care, planning, waste, transport, public health and more.
Exeter’s proposal meets this by replacing 11 councils with four new unitaries, removing the two-tier split.
2. The right size to achieve efficiencies and withstand financial shocks
Government expects new unitary councils to be:
- large enough to operate efficiently
- big enough to deliver complex services like adult social care
- financially resilient
- balanced in population size
Each of Exeter’s proposed unitaries falls comfortably within this approximate range:
- Expanded Exeter: 260,000
- Expanded Plymouth: 305,000
- Expanded Torbay: 232,000
- Devon Coast & Countryside: 455,000
Financial modelling undertaken with Plymouth and Torbay confirms that all four councils:
- are viable
- are financially resilient
- would break even on transformation costs within three years
- would have the scale needed for long-term stability
3. High-quality and sustainable public services
Government requires that any new council structure must be capable of delivering:
- strong children’s services
- sustainable adult social care
- integrated planning and transport
- effective climate and environmental action
- modern, digital, accessible services
A single-tier model enables this by bringing all service responsibilities into one organisation per area.
The current system, with responsibilities split between county and district councils, has repeatedly shown its limitations - particularly on joined-up planning, social care coordination, and strategic transport.
Exeter’s proposal includes:
- integrated transport and highways planning
- unified waste and recycling services
- single housing and planning authorities
- combined climate and nature strategies
- clear accountability for social care pathways
This results in higher quality, earlier intervention, and better outcomes for residents.
4. Councils must work together to agree a locally informed proposal
Government expects councils to collaborate rather than compete.
Throughout 2025, councils across Devon:
- provided data
- shared financial modelling
- discussed boundary options
- participated in joint workshops
- exchanged service information
- considered alternative models
Exeter’s final proposal is shaped by this shared evidence base and by feedback from hundreds of conversations with partners across Devon during the Big Community Conversation.
Government has been clear: proposals must respond to local needs and local views. Exeter’s proposal does.
5. Must support devolution
The proposal must fit alongside the Devon & Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA) - the new body responsible for strategic transport, housing, skills, economic development and climate action.
The four-unitary model aligns perfectly with the DTCCA because:
- it creates clear, coherent partners
- it reduces fragmentation
- it allows regional strategies to be implemented consistently
- it aligns the unitary areas to functional economic and travel-to-work geographies
- It also strengthens the voice of the South West nationally.
6. Must enable stronger community engagement and neighbourhood empowerment
The Government is explicit: reorganised councils must bring decision-making closer to communities, not further away.
Exeter’s proposal responds by creating:
- Neighbourhood Area Committees (NACs)
- formal pathways for local influence
- stronger links between councils, parishes and residents
- devolved budgets for community-level projects over time
- clearer roles for town and parish councils
- transparent local decision-making
Communities asked for more local influence. The proposal delivers it.
Why LGR matters for Devon
Local Government Reorganisation is not an abstract policy exercise. For Devon, it is an essential step towards:
- simpler, easier-to-understand services
- stronger financial foundations
- more coherent planning for homes, roads and jobs
- better support for vulnerable people
- stronger and more resilient rural communities
- thriving urban centres with room to grow
- a governance structure that matches modern life, not the 1970s
The current system is no longer fit for the challenges ahead. Local Government Reorganisation creates a structure that is.