Local Government Reform: Everything you need to know about changes to Cumbria

Local government reorganisation will see Cumbria’s seven existing councils abolished by 2023 and replaced by two new unitary councils.

Cumberland Council will take over as the authority in Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland.

Westmorland and Furness Council will take over as the ruling authority in Eden, South Lakeland and Barrow-in-Furness.

Unitary councils carry the powers of both a borough and county council and are the Conservative Government’s preferred model.

Planning powers are currently the responsibility of the borough and district councils, but Cumbria’s highways are the responsibility of the county council.

Creating a unitary council brings all responsibilities and decision-making powers under one roof.

The vehicle for this is to create a single tier of local government for Cumbria which moved a step closer this week in the Houses of Parliament.

John Stevenson MP for Carlisle was last week nominated to join the First Delegated Legislation Committee alongside Workington MP Mark Jenkinson. 

And this week, the committee heard the Cumbria (Structural Changes) Order 2022 - which enshrines the planned county changes in law.

Presenting the order to the committee, Levelling-up minister Kemi Badenoch MP said: “Implementing this proposal and establishing these unitary authorities will enable strong leadership and engagement both at the strategic level and with communities at the most local level.”

Parliamentary proceedings: John Stevenson MP, Levelling-up minister Kemi Badenoch MP and Mark Jenkinson MP

Conservative leaders believe that single tier local government places counties in a position at the top table when bidding for funding.

Ms Badenoch said: “It will pave the way as envisaged in the Levelling-Up White Paper for a significant devolution deal involving a directly elected mayor for Cumbria if that is an option that local leaders wish to pursue.”

Mr Stevenson said: “I am delighted to have been asked to join the committee.

“I am very clear that local government reform for Cumbria is a positive step forward.

“The current system clearly does not work for our county, and the creation of two unitary authorities will undoubtedly improve the performance of local government, enabling strong leadership and the ability to make decisions for ourselves.”

After being passed unanimously by the committee, the Structural Changes Order will be discussed in the House of Commons on Wednesday March 9.

The process is moving quickly after Cumbria County Council’s legal challenge was refused for the second time on Tuesday February 22.

The Labour leadership of Cumbria County Council called for a Judicial Review of the process in 2021, believing it to be a politically motivated power grab from the UK Government.

Leader of the council Stewart Young raised concerns that the general public has not been properly consulted on the changes.

County leader: Councillor Stewart Young has opposed the changes believing they will be 'disastrous' for council services

But the High Court has ruled that this is “not reasonably arguable” and after the Judicial Review’s second refusal, the county council has said there will be no appeal.

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, and one half of the ruling coalition, Peter Thornton said: “I welcome the fact that this matter now seems to be resolved and I hope we can now get on with work to create two viable and successful councils for Cumbria.”

Although not in support of the legal challenge, Cllr Thornton said that the Liberal Democrat Group understood Labour’s concerns and did not want to break up the alliance over a difference in opinion.

During the committee debate, Fiona Bruce MP said: “At 3,000 plus, of which 2,362 I note were from residents and basically, it would appear, in favour.

"I wonder if the minister could perhaps tell us how many residents live in these areas altogether.

“The reason I’m asking this is because, of course Cheshire was changed to two unitary councils some years ago and as an MP for a constituency in the Cheshire area, there was a sense amongst a lot of residents that they hadn’t really been carried, with regard to the imposition, as they felt, of the two unitary councils.

“What I’m trying to point out is there are a lot more residents than just those responses and it’s really important that there is a liaison, a communication with residents to really ensure they understand the benefits that would accrue to this change, so that there isn’t a sense that they haven’t really been properly engaged and a resentment that can last some years.”

Ms Badenoch said: “The answer is that in Cumbria there are 499,000 residents, so yes of course in terms of the number of people who responded to the consultation, it is a small number but we do know across Government that those people who respond to consultations tend to be those most interested in the subject and often can give a representative view.”

Who will you be voting for in May?

Elections are set to take place on May 5 which will appoint councillors to two 'Shadow Authorities' - one for each of the new councils.

Shadow Authorities will operate alongside the existing councils for the first year before vesting day on April 1 2023 when the unitary authorities take full control.

The new Cumberland Council will have 46 ward councillors who will initially serve on the Shadow Authority until vesting day, before serving a further four year term.

This means that although the Shadow Authorities will serve alongside the existing councils for one year, elections in May determine who will take control of the Cumberland Council and Westmorland & Furness Council for five years.

The public can keep up to date on changes to the county by visiting the New Councils for Cumbria website.