Decision details

Further to the report to Full Council in July 2020 and subsequent letter to the Secretary of State requesting invitation to submit proposals for local government reorganisation in Lancashire, a proposition has been prepared containing the initial strategic outline business case ('OBC') for change and the emerging principles that would be reflected in the future governance arrangements that would need to be developed further.

The proposal - included in at Appendix A to this report – sets out that to deliver ambitious recovery and levelling up plans, we need to transition to a unitary and Mayoral Combined Authority model.  The existing fifteen councils would be replaced with three unitary authorities: Northwest Lancashire, Central Lancashire and East (‘Pennine’) Lancashire, and a Mayoral Combined Authority for the whole of Lancashire.

This OBC has been prepared urgently in order to request an invitation that Lancashire is included within the Government's anticipated first tranche for local government reorganisation anticipated within an imminent White Paper and seeks agreement to work with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ('MHCLG') officials on this process with the early development of a devolution deal.

The aim would then be to develop a Full Business Case ('FBC') for the proposition with a detailed strategic, economic, commercial, financial and management case, and options appraisal, as well as carry out a comprehensive consultation with local authorities, partners, business and residents across the county to build consensus.  It is anticipated that the proposal will generate a good deal of support and the FBC would be developed in partnership with willing stakeholders.

The Chief Executive and Director of Resources, following consultation with the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Urgency Committee of the Full Council, approved the recommendation(s) as set out in the report.