Local government reorganisation submission
Published
Friday 21 March, 2025
Updated
Friday 21 March, 2025
All 14 council leaders in Kent have today submitted their interim proposals (PDF 478KB) to replace the current two-tier system with new unitary councils.
The Government says simplifying council structures will cut wasteful duplication and build empowered, simplified, resilient and sustainable local government for Kent that will increase value for money for taxpayers.
For Kent, local government reorganisation will bring together the county council, Medway Council, and the county’s 12 district and borough councils into a number of new unitary authorities that will provide the same services as both County and District councils.
Although Kent and Medway is not currently included in the devolution priority programme, council leaders are still in pursuit of the very best devolutionary arrangements for all residents and are keen to ensure that any reorganisation is completed in alignment with achieving full devolution at the earliest opportunity.
The options in the interim proposal reflect key criteria set out by Government around prioritising the delivery of high quality and sustainable public services to residents and avoiding any unnecessary fragmentation of services.
Council leaders will now await the government’s response to the interim proposals. Further extensive work will take place over the coming months on final proposals to be submitted in November 2025, during which time there will be scope for a much wider programme of public and partner engagement.
