Devon County Council is calling on the Government to repay the costs incurred preparing for local government reorganisation (LGR) before the programme was paused.
The council will write to the Secretary of State seeking reimbursement for the reasonable costs incurred by the council in responding to Government instructions and preparing to implement the reorganisation programme before it was paused.
While the Government has confirmed transition funding of £900,000 for each new authority, the county council says this will cover only a fraction of the costs involved in delivering one of the biggest changes to local government in a generation.
The original Exeter and Plymouth business case estimated implementation costs of £70.1 million across Devon, but the council’s more recent work suggested the eventual cost could approach £90 million.
County councillors today were to consider earmarking £30 million from its reserves to help meet the costs of implementing the Government’s preferred reorganisation model and to ensure services could continue safely during the transition. The funding would have been used to cover costs up to the proposed implementation date of 1 April 2028.
But, following the Government’s announcement earlier this week that it would pause implementation of its local government reorganisation decision for Devon while it undertakes a rapid review, councillors agreed not to establish the proposed £30 million LGR reserve.
It will however call on Ministers to reimburse councils for costs already incurred in preparing for the programme.
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