What effect will Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) have on Parish and Town Councils?

In this think piece, Sam Quinn – work experience intern at LGIU – reflects on the role of parish and town councils, and examines how past reorganisations have shaped their use and development over time. Building on past case studies, his reflections highlight a few enduring questions: how do we ensure localism is maintained in local government reorganisation? And how has reorganisation affected parish and town councils in the past? 

In December 2024, the UK government issued a white paper on English Devolution, outlining their intention to comprehensively restructure local government in England. A major feature of this scheme will be the abolition of the two-tier system and the merging of county and district councils into single unitary authorities. The government argues this push towards uniformity will lead to greater efficiency and reduced costs. They contend that larger councils will have more resources and improved outputs, and the devolution of decision-making power from Whitehall will allow them to better serve the needs of their communities.

However, these choices will inevitably mean that in places that are reorganised, there are fewer councillors per resident. This opens up the question of distance: how far away should councils be from the people they represent? Considering the importance of this question for local democracy, the white paper (and the English Devolution Bill) had little to say about parish and town councils, the elected institution that is, for much of the English population, their closest point of contact with a representative, stating that they would:

“…rewire the relationship between town and parish councils and principal Local Authorities, strengthening expectations on engagement and community voice.”

This leaves many questions about what “rewiring” will look like and how communities will be represented at the hyperlocal level. In a previous briefing, we outlined the place of Area Committees in the government’s plans, and the question of parish and town councils, their relationship with Area Committees, and their overall place in the new world of local government post-reorganisation, is still very much open.

This think-piece is based on two recent discussions in the sector which prompted us to consider the question. Our Chief Executive, Jonathan Carr-West, spoke at the National Association of Local Councils annual conference a few weeks ago, and heard the many voices from within the sector pointing to this inflection point as an opportunity to drive change within local representation. Secondly, I recently attended the Localis event on reorganisation, and asked a question about the role of parish and town councils, where I was struck by the different opinions from across the panel. As with all reforms, there will be trade-offs, and the worst response is to ignore the challenge and opportunities that lie ahead for the relationship between parish and town councils and principal authorities during and after reorganisation.

What are parish and town councils?

Parish and town councils operate below county and district councils, forming the most direct and local form of government in the UK. Their responsibilities vary greatly depending on the size of their ward, with, for example, Sutton Coalfield Town Council serving 37,101 people, and Manningtree Town Council less than 50. Their duties can include the maintenance of allotments, bus shelters, community centres, public ordnance, consultation on neighbourhood planning, and so on. They are entitled to a share of council tax precept, but budgets vary widely. Some take in millions, while others, like Wharton in Cumbria having only a budget of £10 per annum in 2019. Nonetheless, many researchers consider them an essential feature of local democracy and emphasise the importance of institutions with direct connections to the communities they serve.

What are the government’s plans for parish and town councils?

It is not clear what plans the government has for parish and town councils after LGR, as the white paper mentions them only briefly. Alongside their call for a “rewiring” of the relationship, they also spoke of a need for quality parish status, a process they describe as being in line with the devolution efforts of New Labour from 1997.

However, in June 2025, Minister for Local Government Jim McMahon said the government was seeking to promote Neighbourhood Area Committees (NACs) to provide a “simplified and standardised system of local area-working and governance”. These would communicate with the new unitary authorities and could include existing parish and town councillors on their board, as well as representatives from other community organisations. This still leaves many questions as to the role of parish and town councils, however.

Emeritus Professors Colin Copus and Steven Leach have raised concerns about LGR in a report published in June 2025. At the Localis event on the  impact of LGR, I asked the panel their views on the role of parish and town councils.  The panel gave a range of opinions: some argued that because NACs are not directly elected, and though they can include elected members of the principal authority who work alongside unelected business and community representatives, the use of them could risk creating a democratic deficit. Although this can be a problem with parish and town councils as well, where often not all members are elected, these councils are audited and have established checks and balances. Area committees by contrast do not have clear methods of scrutiny over spending and organisation. NACs would administer comparatively large populations, and this could mean the loss of the uniquely local representation that parish and town councils provide. Basic connections, like meetings between parish councillors and representatives from the district, would become more difficult due to distance and time constraints. Some at the conference wondered if area committees would even be sustainable, as they have a history of collapsing due to a lack of funds.

What happened to parish and town councils in past cases of unitarisation?

To better understand what the role of parish and town councils might be in the future, it is worth examining two cases in England where unitarisation has already occurred. In these cases, we see the changing role of parish and town councils and their utilisation as a tool to maintain localism in new, larger and perhaps more distant councils.

Cornwall abolished its six district councils in 2009, and replaced them with a single authority based in Truro, named Cornwall Council. This reduced the number of councillors in Cornwall overall, and the unitary council found it difficult to give as much attention to local affairs. These issues were exacerbated by the fact that Cornwall Council had its revenue support grant cut by 90% between 2013 – 2019, from £109mn to £14mn in 2019. Parish and town councils had to fill the gap, and were given powers over public libraries and public toilets. Other roles, such as CCTV monitoring were taken on by larger parish and town councils such as St Ives and Penzance. Parish and town councils had more responsibility, and so were entitled to a larger precept, but with less tax raised generally, they were expected to step up and try to raise the shortfall for themselves.

While the trend in Cornwall was to devolve more power to parish and towns, the 2019 merger of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole district councils into a single body (called the BCP council) has taken a different route. While Christchurch retained its parish council, Bournemouth and Poole saw the effective abolition of this level of local government in the short term, as parish and town councils were replaced with charter trustees. These are unelected and strictly apolitical bodies that can select a mayor and deputy mayor to maintain the traditions of their respective towns, and also provide maintenance to town hall property. Their decision-making power is extremely limited, and, interestingly, this has been a highly debated issue locally.

March 2025 saw the publication of a draft proposal to re-establish Bournemouth and Poole’s town councils, and parishise other nearby areas, including Hurn and Broadstone. The draft stated that the loss of local decision-making power has “caused some frustration amongst some Charter Trustees and Mayors who have wished to support more community-based activities and events and to provide grant funding for individuals and local organisations”. Support for re-establishment is not universal in the area, and there are complaints over the increases in council tax and further bureaucracy that the proposal would bring. It remains to be seen if the measure will pass, but the fact that the return of parish and town councils was considered only six years after unitarisation suggests strong demand for direct local government.

Conclusion

The place of parish and town councils after LGR remains unknown. The case studies suggest that an unintended consequence of unitarisation is the empowerment of parish and town councils, with those in Cornwall gaining more responsibility, and the BCP area seeing a campaign for parishisation. In the end, the fate of parish and town councils may come down to decisions taken locally, based on the demands of the community, the budget, and the increased burden of work given to the new unitary authorities.

Thanks again to Sam for his reflections and work with LGIU. If you want to hear more on the progress of the English Devolution Bill please sign up to the latest member-exclusive updates here.