Government feedback on options for merging Warwickshire's six biggest councils is set to arrive a month late due to the county's position in the alphabet.

The revelation emerged during this week's update by Stratford-on-Avon District Council chief executive David Buckland to councillors tasked with providing oversight on progress. 

Mr Buckland cut a frustrated, sometimes sarcastic figure in telling elected officials on the district's overview and scrutiny panel of the lack of information coming back from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

It was that department which set the hare running on local government reform in December 2024, telling areas with council services split over two tiers – county councils with districts and boroughs underneath – to draw up plans for unitary authorities to deal with the lot.

If seen through, it will see the end of Warwickshire's six current councils.

After plenty of toing and froing, Warwickshire's initial submission saw Warwickshire County Council advocate one new authority to cover the current county footprint, while the five districts and boroughs – North Warwickshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rugby, Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon – made the case for a two unitaries, north and south, to be considered as well. 

The interim proposals went off as a single package by the deadline of March 21. A single piece of feedback was due to land with all six councils in the week straddling the end of April and start of May. 

However, Mr Buckland told councillors: "The latest on that is a message I received yesterday (Tuesday, May 27) to say we wouldn't get our feedback until June 3, but we are promised it on that date.

"I am an accountant so I have worked out that they have had our homework for 74 days now. They only gave us 44 days to do it in the first place. 

"I have written to the director general who has responsibility for this (MHCLG civil servant Will Garton) to express my disappointment that it has taken so long to get feedback on such an important issue."

Asked whether it was just Warwickshire's that was late, Mr Buckland replied: "We are not alone. Please don't have a go at me but they are doing it in alphabetical order."

That arbitrary list means that Derbyshire has received its feedback with Councillor Stuart Keighley (Lib Dem, Long Marston) interested in any hints.

A particular focus was the government's desire for any new council to serve a population of 500,000 or more, seemingly pushing Warwickshire towards the single unitary option.

"Derbyshire's submission talks about options below 500,000," said Mr Buckland. 

"There are six criteria we need to respond to, one of those is around costs and a single unitary in Warwickshire will be more cost effective than two unitaries.

"We were never going to get a no at this point, it is only feedback so they are not discounting any of the solutions.

"We do know from the Surrey feedback that there wasn't a proposal for a single (council) but they were asked to (include) that by the government as part of the process so it does look like bigger is considered to be better.

"That is of course only one of the six criteria. They are not ruling them out but there hasn't been a massive softening on this issue of 500,000."

Funding information also late

Information is also outstanding on the scale of financial help that councils will get to aid a transition that, as things stand, is due to be completed by 2028. 

The government announced in late March that £7.6 million would be made available to the 21 council areas affected.

"They still haven't told us how much of that money will be given to each local authority to help with the preparation of formal submissions," said Mr Buckland. 

"As I mentioned last time, divided equally that would be around £380,000 for each of the (county) areas – a bit galling for Surrey who have already had to submit their final plan without any backing."

He later confirmed the funding plan was set to come forward on June 3 as well but added: "I don't understand why £7.6 million divided by 21 is taking so long."

What comes next? 

Dependent on those timescales being stuck to, Stratford district's working group will convene on June 4 to consider the information and again a week later when a report from consultants Deloitte, jointly commissioned by Warwickshire's five districts and boroughs to assess whether one or two unitaries is best way forward, is due to land. 

From there, the cabinet – the Liberal Democrat panel of councillors in charge of the Stratford district's major service areas – will decide which option it wants to pursue on July 7 with a full council debate and decision a week later on July 14. 

The district's Lib Dems are known to favour a north-south split but the decision will go out to a county-wide public consultation, Mr Buckland confirming it is due "over the summer for at least eight weeks". 

Once the responses have been considered, overview and scrutiny will look at it on November 5 before the final submission to government – the body that will decide which option goes forward – is rubber stamped by cabinet and full council on November 17.

Asked whether the delays would push back the timescales, Mr Buckland replied: "I have asked MHCLG whether there is going to be a delay to the submission dates because there has been a month of delay to our feedback, the only response I have had is that they are thinking about it.

"We are still working on the basis that the submission date will be November 28."

Devolution and health body reforms 

Beyond the council reforms, there is also the matter of which strategic authority – the government's preferred vehicle for more local powers and funding – Warwickshire will belong to.

Mr Buckland discussed Warwickshire's three options – joining the West Midlands Combined Authority, Warwickshire forming its own Cumbria-style strategic authority or splitting the north and south to link up with the likes of Staffordshire and Leicestershire or Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, respectively. 

It was confirmed that a letter had been drafted to ask West Midlands mayor Richard Parker (Lab) his view on whether Warwickshire would be welcomed by the current combined authority.

"Very shortly after the publication of the white paper, the mayor is reported to have said he did not see Warwickshire within the authority. We just need to flush that out for sure," said Mr Buckland.

Another element brought up was an impending review of integrated care boards (ICBs), the bodies responsible for planning and funding NHS services for their areas.

The county is currently served by the Coventry & Warwickshire ICB but Mr Buckland anticipates mergers with the government aiming to cut costs by "50 per cent".

"The goalposts are moving whilst we are playing the game," he said.