A newly announced review has put on hold proposals to reorganise local government in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire into three unitary councils, leaving councils, staff and planned elections in limbo.
The Secretary of State has paused the reorganisation to review legal process and alignment with the new administration’s priorities.
Councils and leaders say the pause has cost time and money and creates local uncertainty, while some see it as an opportunity to revisit the plan.
# What happened The government has announced a pause and formal review of plans to replace the existing two-tier system in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire with three new unitary authorities. Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said she wants to check that the process is robust, lawful and aligned with the priorities of the incoming administration and Prime Minister.
# What the plan proposed
West Berkshire was already a small unitary council and had backed joining the Ridgeway proposal.
# Immediate consequences Shadow elections to the three new authorities, which had been scheduled for May next year, will no longer go ahead. Instead, district council elections will take place as previously arranged.
Oxford City Council's Labour leader, Susan Brown, said the authority remains committed to the principles of reorganisation and is prepared to continue arguing for its proposal.
# Why the government paused the plan Rayner framed the pause as an obligation for a new Secretary of State to ensure proposals fit the new government's plans and comply with legal advice. The step follows the government taking legal advice on reorganisation in several other counties and withdrawing or pausing plans in places including Hampshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.
# Local reaction and costs
# What changes for residents and services
# What to watch next The review's scope includes legal compliance and whether the proposals match the priorities of the new administration. The government has not published a timeline for the review. Councils involved are likely to press for clarity on timescales, costs already incurred and whether work on transition planning should continue while the review is underway.
# Bottom line Plans to create three unitary authorities in the Thames Valley are on hold while the new Secretary of State reviews the process and legal position. The pause cancels planned shadow elections, leaves councils having spent time and money on preparations, and replaces immediate certainty with a period of political and administrative limbo.
Council reorganisation plans which began in November 2024 have been halted by Andy Burnham’s government. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner announced the pause until decisions undergo “review” following legal advice. This pause affects Oxfordshire and 15 other counties. Eight
Oxfordshire and West Berkshire councils have spent more than £3m of taxpayers' money on local reorganisation so far, for it to have been paused by the government.
Proposals to merge smaller councils to form larger authorities have been paused or withdrawn in a number of areas.
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