Making sense of the plans to reorganise councils - and what it all means for you

The winds of devolutionary change are blowing and, within the next couple of years, they will affect everyone of us. Hannah Richardson takes a look at the options on the table, and the differing views

- Hannah Richardson

HUGE changes are in the pipeline for councils in Leicester and Leicestershire. The changes, which have been ordered by the government, will affect all our lives.

Three possible ways forward were submitted to the government earlier this year, and all remain on the table after Westminster responded to the submissions last week.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner wants areas which have two tiers of governance such as Leicestershire, with a county council and district councils - to set up a single-tier structure instead.

Locally, that effectively means scrapping the seven district and borough councils which share responsibilities for delivering services with Leicestershire County Council.

When the changes have been made, county residents will instead see all of their services delivered by a single authority.

That is currently the case in Leicester, where Leicester City Council oversees the delivery of all services, from bin collections to social care to education.

However, the move to a “single authority” does not, despite the name, necessarily mean just one council for Leicestershire.

One of the three submissions sent to the government envisions two councils for what is termed the “county doughnut”, with each covering one geographical half, and the city remaining separate in the middle. Rutland would also remain separate under this plan.

The second proposal is for a single council for Leicestershire, also with separate authorities remaining for the city and for Rutland, which at the moment is led by Rutland County Council.

The third submission is the most controversial. It puts forward the possible expansion of Leicester's borders into parts of the county.

This is something city mayor Sir Peter Soulsby has said he believes the city needs in order to be able to balance its books beyond the 2027/28 financial year, which it is required to do by law.