FAQs

The proposal would mean that for the first time all residents, businesses and organisations across Warwickshire would have one council in their area to contact for most services, from bins to social care to planning and roads.

Under the findings of the Deloitte report, whilst a single unitary council is likely to deliver slightly more savings this would cover a very large area and could be seen as being too far away from the communities that it would serve.

Yes. Residents are invited to participate in our public engagement exercise which will be running from Thursday 7 August to Sunday 14 September. Follow this link to have your say: Get Involved – Shaping the future of our Councils

Up until 1 April 2028 nothing will change. Your bin will still be collected and social care services will continue. All councils across Warwickshire are committed to ensuring there is minimal disruption to services for residents. After the new council(s) take over, then it is possible there may be changes to the way services are delivered or who provides them. The Government’s aim is to improve services by delivering them in a more joined-up way, so they’re easier to access and better value for money.

No reductions to social care funding are proposed. We will be engaging with users of these services before we make our final decisions on what we believe to be the best structures.

These services are extremely important to our residents, and we have commissioned further research to help determine what would be the best structures to support our residents most in need. We intend to implement structures which would support stronger partnership working and allow a greater focus on prevention. We expected, that a localised approach from a two unitary Warwickshire would be more responsive and accessible to local needs than a single, larger council covering all of Warwickshire.

Prevention means acting early to stop problems before they escalate: whether in health, housing, or children’s services. It’s about helping people stay independent, reducing long-term costs, and improving lives.

The two unitary proposal would require a complete review of the way in which services are delivered across the county area. Such a review would need to be carefully undertaken to ensure that those most vulnerable in our communities are protected through a period of change.

Through this transformation it is expected that the new Councils would further engage to help produce the right response for our communities. There are concerns that a single large council covering the whole county area could not react in the same way. Our proposed model strives to achieve the right balance: it’s large enough to deliver effectively, yet close enough to communities to respond quickly and meaningfully.

The proposal’s key strengths are:

• Localised delivery: councils which are close to their communities understand them better, enabling earlier intervention and personalised support. They can deliver more insightful services, which provide the best value for money.
• Community partnerships: services can be better co-designed with the voluntary and community sector (VCS), ensuring relevance and responsiveness. Local people feel more ownership through this approach.

There is likely to be a reduction in the number of senior leadership positions, which will contribute to some of the predicted financial savings. The vast majority of employees will continue to work for the proposed new councils.

To achieve the Government’s objective of streamlining councils, it is expected that the two new unitary authorities in the north and south would have around 60 councillors each. If the government went ahead with a single Warwickshire unitary Council it is expected that there would be around 114 Councillors.

Under both of the proposals the result would be a significant reduction (over 50%) in the number of elected members, from the existing 257 councillors. Currently at district and borough level on average there are 2,244 electors per councillor, under the new proposals this would increase to almost 4,000.
The new unitary authorities would work closely with parish and town councils. In addition, the new Councils would provide new ways of engaging with local communities to ensure that they do not become remote. This could be through neighbourhood committees which would ne held throughout Warwickshire. Subject to local views, opportunities would be explored to create new town or parish councils to represent communities where there are none at present.

The White Paper acknowledges that people value the role of governance at the community scale and that can be a concern when local government is reorganised.  The White Paper sets out that the Government wants to see stronger community arrangements when reorganisation happens in the way councils engage at a neighbourhood or area level. The Government has stated it will also change the relationship between town and parish councils and principal local authorities, strengthening expectations on engagement and community voice.