Background
Lancashire is made up of 15 councils which includes one county council, two unitary councils, and 12 district councils:
- The County Council - provides county-wide services such as education, highways, and social care on behalf of district councils: Lancashire County Council
- Unitary Authorities - provide all services in their area, these are: Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council
- District Councils – provide local services such as housing, waste collection, and planning, these are: Burnley Borough Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Lancaster City Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, Ribble Valley Borough Council, Rossendale Borough Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council, and Wyre Council
In December 2024, central government produced a White Paper (a consultation document) outlining its ambitions to be introduced in the English Devolution Bill for the reform of local government, including local government reorganisation, which aims to simplify governance, reduce costs, and enhance service delivery.
Local governemnt reorganisation is separate from the devolution process. You can find more details about the differences between devolution and LGR here - The devolution and LG reorganisation hub | Local Government Association.
In February 2025, all 15 councils in Lancashire were invited to submit their proposals for local government reorganisation by November 2025 to replace all councils with larger unitary authorities, each serving approximately 500,000 residents. It is expected that these new unitary authorities will be operating from April 2028.