Alison McGovern MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for raising this issue in the House; it sounds really serious. I will look at what has happened in Gosport. We endeavour to take decisions quickly and have clarity, but I will have a look at the issue that she raises, because it sounds important to her constituents.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am pleased to hear that the right hon. Gentleman has been in touch with local authority leaders. They will have heard what he has said, and I am sure that they can take his views into consideration when they respond to our letter.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I have heard it and take it away as part of our consideration of the issues around reorganisation. We published the criteria that we will use to take decisions with regards to reorganisation, and we need to stick to those criteria, but I take seriously the point that he raises.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am sure that the hon. Lady’s council will have heard what she has said and understood her views—and it is right that it has. Having stood in one local council election and five general elections, I am not afraid of democracy.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I understand that today we may hear more from those with concerns about reorganisation, but the case that my hon. Friend makes is the right one. Everywhere in this country deserves the possibility of economic and social growth.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  As I have mentioned a few times, we have had representations from councils about their capacity. Of course we discuss these issues as Ministers and as part of the Government, and those discussions happen in the usual way, as the hon. Member would expect.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  A merry Christmas to him, too! I feel disappointed that he is disappointed to see me here. In any case, as I have said to other Members, what has happened is that local councils have raised concerns with us, and we are attempting to get in touch with them—the letter is going to them today—so that they can say what the circumstances are in their boroughs. As we have discussed, if they wish for elections to go ahead, that is fine.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am not sure I have the power to do that.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am sure that East Sussex county council has heard what the hon. Member has said. It may discuss that with him directly, as I will happily do if he would like.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Of course those things are taken into consideration. We have set out some criteria by which the decisions on reorganisation are taken, and I refer my hon. Friend to those, but effective local government is built out of a strong sense of community. I am sure that will be reflected in his constituency, as elsewhere.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I will write to him to confirm the response to it. Primarily, that is one for Norfolk. I am sure it may say things publicly, but I would be very happy to discuss with him the circumstances in his constituency, if he would like that.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I do not want to try your patience, Madam Deputy Speaker. There is much I could say in response to my hon. Friend, who makes some excellent points, but I will just say that I have heard what he says, and I will do my best.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I am awfully sorry that I am not the person that the hon. Member wanted to see at the Dispatch Box today.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. We are following the precedent for dealing with situations like this. This happened under the previous Government, too, and we support that process. Council leaders will have heard what he said. I am not sure what the politics are of the situation that he alluded to. None the less, local leaders will have heard what he said, and I am sure that they will consider that when they take their decision.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for raising those points. First, I take seriously her point about the timings. She will understand that it has been a particularly busy time, given all that is happening in the Department, but I absolutely accept her point. I have been in touch with many Members of the House on reorganisation, funding and other matters, and I anticipate that I will also be in touch with Members over the rest of the year, and very much in the new year as well. My hon. Friend asked, “Why now?” We have had representations from a number of councils undergoing reorganisation—albeit by no means the majority, as most councils that are reorganising are not due to have elections in any case—and we think it is important that we take stock of their views on capacity constraints. My hon. Friend also asked about timings; we have asked the councils to come back to us quickly, and we will take decisions swiftly.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I agree: Luton deserves far better, and it is about time that people in Luton had their fair share.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his commitment to taking part in these discussions and for the insights he brings from Northern Ireland. I will alert colleagues in local government to those and let them know that there is experience they could learn from.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for his response. I will do my best to respond to a couple of his substantive points. He said that the Opposition are supporting local leaders who are engaging in the process in good faith, and I thank him for that, despite his other comments where he indicated that perhaps his party is not supporting the move to towards unitary councils, which we know are more efficient and effective, as I said. On the hon. Gentleman’s important point about the Electoral Commission, the Secretary of State will take that under advisement, and will take any issues raised seriously. As I mentioned, we want to take an approach that puts local insights first. He mentioned councils that do not support a delay. As I said, that is fine; there is no problem with that at all. We want to support local leaders through what we are doing. The hon. Gentleman mentioned planning, which is extremely important, given the desperate need to build more homes; in fact, part of the motivation for moving to unitary authorities is to get that work done effectively and efficiently. He also asked about social care, which is an extremely important area. A lot of change is going on in social care, not least through the work in the Department for Health and Social Care on changing how NHS England works. I am working closely with colleagues in that Department on that, and I am happy to engage further with him on it. The position on elections is as it has always been. The starting point remains that elections go ahead unless there is a strong justification for them not going ahead. Today, we are writing to local leaders who have raised concerns and made justifications to us, to ask them to set those out, so that an informed decision can be taken.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I have responded.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her questions. I will not respond again to those to which I have already responded. As I mentioned, the majority of the English electorate will get to vote in the elections in 2026 that are not affected by reorganisation. There are other elections going on and, as I said, this does not apply to the majority of councils undergoing reorganisation, either. A number of councils have raised capacity issues, demand on limited resources and the challenge of getting the transition process right. They have shared details with us, which is why we are writing to them to ask their view formally. We will get on with this process as quickly as we can.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Yes.

• 18 Dec 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  As I said to the House yesterday, we need to set local authorities on a plan for financial sustainability, after 14 years during which the Tories decimated local government, and local government reorganisation is a part of that journey. Having layers of councils is both inefficient and ineffective. With one council in charge in each area, we will see quicker decisions to grow our towns and cities and to connect people to opportunity. Residents will see more preventive care; a family needing special educational needs support and help with housing, for instance, will need to contact only one council, rather than being passed between two. Residents will also benefit from more financially stable councils, with combined services delivering for a larger population, providing for efficiencies and better value. That is why reorganisation is a vital part of our change: stronger local councils equipped to generate economic growth will improve local public services and empower their communities. As we break for Christmas, I would like to thank colleagues in this place and councils across the country for working with the Government to deliver this process. We want to make these changes in this Parliament. We have already reached a number of key milestones, including the Secretary of State’s decision to implement two new unitary councils in Surrey. We have now received proposals from all 20 remaining invitation areas and a consultation is open on 17 of those proposals from six invitation areas. I expect to launch a consultation in early February on proposals for the remaining 14 areas that seek to meet the terms of the statutory invitation; that consultation would be for seven weeks. I remain committed to the indicative timetable that was published in July, which will see elections to new councils in May 2027 and those new councils going live in April 2028, subject to Parliament. Local government reorganisation is a complex process involving the rewiring of local services to bring housing, planning, public health and social care all under one roof. When councils have told us about the limits they are working within and the capacity required for reorganisation, my ministerial colleagues and I have heard them. In recent weeks, as final proposals have been submitted, the number of councils voicing such concerns have grown. Many councils across the country—and of all stripes—have expressed anxiety about their capacity to deliver a smooth and safe transition to new councils, alongside running resource-intensive elections to councils proposed to be abolished shortly. They have expressed concerns about the time and energy spent managing elections to bodies that will shortly not exist, only to run an election a year later. We have also heard from councils querying the value for taxpayers of spending tens of millions of pounds running elections to bodies that will not exist for much longer. Councils are telling us that where capacity is a problem, postponement would free up resources to be concentrated on local government reorganisation and the delivery of good services. This Government believe in devolution and local leadership. We do not wish to dictate local decisions from Whitehall without consultation; instead, we will listen to local leaders. It is right that the Secretary of State considers the concerns that have been raised with specific relevance to the areas they have come from. Capacity will vary between councils, and that is why the Secretary of State wants to hear from local leaders who know their areas best and understand their own local capacity. He is therefore today seeking the views of council leaders regarding their local capacity to deliver local government reorganisation alongside elections. To be clear, should a council say that it has no reason to delay its elections, there will be no delay. If a council voices genuine concerns, we will take these issues seriously, and would be minded to grant a delay in those areas. To that end, the Secretary of State is minded to make an order to postpone elections for one year only to the councils that raise capacity concerns. We have asked for representations from councils by no later than midnight on 15 January, and will then be in a position to make an informed decision. I will continue to update the House on this and other important milestones for reorganisation as we deliver on this vital agenda. I commend this statement to the House.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is not just a former deputy leader of Milton Keynes city council; she has become a fantastic champion of that great city since coming to this House. If she wants to meet to talk about fast-growing cities and building homes, I will be there all day.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I might be a proud northerner, but I was once a councillor in a London borough, so I do not need to be told what poverty in London looks like. In my statement, I mentioned the possibilities for raising income that some councils have access to, and we want to work with local authorities on that. I am determined that we will not make this about geographical division in our country; we will make it a journey for all councils back towards financial sustainability. That is the objective, and I will happily work with the hon. Lady on that if that is what she wants to do.

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

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  My announcement today is a massive vote of confidence in the people of Shipley and of Bradford, and I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to make sure that every penny piece of that investment improves her constituents’ lives.