The Government has announced how local councils in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will be reorganised.
After considering three different proposals, it has confirmed that, from April 2028, all local council services will be provided by two new unitary councils instead of the current arrangements.
The new councils will cover:
For now, nothing is changing. Existing councils will continue to deliver services as normal, and charities, voluntary organisations and community groups can continue working with their current local authority contacts.
There is no action required at this stage. The changes will happen gradually over the next few years, with the new councils taking responsibility from April 2028.
Local Government Reorganisation decision under review
On Monday 7 September, Government confirmed that it is undertaking a review of a number of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) decisions, including the plans for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It is not yet clear how long the review will take or what impact, if any, it may have on the timeline for reorganisation in our area.
Government has confirmed that local elections will take place in May 2027. This means that Rutland County Council, Leicester City Council, district and borough council elections will go ahead based on existing boundaries.
We will continue to work in strong partnership across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland as we understand the impact of this announcement.
The full Government statement released on Monday 7 September can be read here.
If you’re unsure which new council area your organisation will be part of, you can refer to the published boundary map for an overview of the proposed areas – Click to see map here
As more information becomes available about how the new arrangements will affect funding, partnerships, commissioning and local services, we will share updates to help the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector prepare and plan ahead.
Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) will continue to meet and discuss the transitional arrangements with all of the 10 existing councils, ensuring that key questions, points of views and ideas from the local VCSE sector and their service users are part of the plans and shape of the new unitary authorities that have been announced.