Multiple local councils in Cambridgeshire could be abolished under new plans to devolve local government. This includes the city, district, and county councils.

Under the new reforms, two-tier council structures will be removed and instead replaced with “strategic authorities”. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner explained that devolution would become “default in our constitution” rather than “at the whim of a minister in Whitehall”.

The Cambridgeshire County Council is currently split into independent district councils which include Cambridge City Council (CCC) and the district councils for Huntingdonshire, Fenland, South Cambridgeshire, and East Cambridgeshire. Local services are split, with the CCC managing social care, major transport matters, and waste disposal. District councils are responsible for assessing planning applications, bin collections and leisure facilities.

A spokesperson for CCC said: “The English Devolution White Paper sets out a clear direction from the government. We welcome the opportunities that greater powers and more funding being devolved from Westminster to Cambridgeshire could bring and will work closely with the mayor and the Combined Authority to secure the best outcomes for our communities.”

They added that they will be “talking to [their] partners, especially in other councils” on the topic of “local government reorganisation” as they “consider [their] response”.

“Our focus remains on delivering essential services across the whole of Cambridgeshire,” they continued.

The independent Cambs Unitaries Campaign (CUC), which was founded last year to push for the reorganisation of authorities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, welcomed the change.

A spokesperson said that the campaign “welcomes the publication of the Devolution White Paper, particularly the proposal for the creation of unitary councils to replace the existing two-tier system.”

“We look forward to further details of what this will mean […] and hope to organise a series of public meetings across the county in 2025 to get their views on how to improve our system of local governance,” they continued.

In October 2023, CCC passed a motion which addressed the “fragmentation of responsibilities and decision-making,” labelling it an “unhelpful hurdle” and stating that it “frequently leaves many of our residents confused about the location of responsibilities and accountability”.

In a public consultation held by the CCC between July and September this year, almost 83% of respondents agreed that a unitary authority for Cambridge is something which should be explored. In November, CCC agreed to discuss these findings with leaders of other relevant authorities and civil servants.

However, critics of the changes have expressed concern over the creation of “mega councils” that erode power at the most local levels.

Cambridge City councillor Elliot Tong said that the government “isn’t giving power back to the community,” accusing Rayner’s statement of being “incredibly two-faced”.

“On the one hand, we’re being told that power will be returned to our communities, but at the same time we are being ordered to prioritise economic growth as a way to prop up our failing national economy,” Tong said.

He added: “National government isn’t giving power back to the community – they’re continuing to take it away, spreading our financial and ecological resources thinner to subsidise their own mistakes.”

Bridget Smith, the Liberal Democrat head of South Cambridgeshire District Council, expressed fears over the plans to merge councils, stating that it could mean the “beginning of the end” of “truly local government”.

Meanwhile Anna Bailey, Conservative leader for East Cambridgeshire District Council, said the thought of being “lumped in with a failing authority” is “just horrifying”. She added that rural councils are “completely different” to city councils and have a unique comprehension of locality.

Rayner, when launching the government’s devolution white paper, dubbed the proposed changes as “taking a step towards relighting the fire in our great regions” and creating “an economy and a society that works for everyone”.

She continued: “We are moving away from an ad-hoc system and towards a simpler and more ambitious framework for devolution. We will make it clear which powers go with which type of authority.”