Alison Bennett's Monday Mail: Easter Parish Notices
Local Government Reorganisation in Sussex
On Wednesday, the government set out its latest thinking on how it wishes to reorganise councils across Sussex.
You may recall that at present, we have three tiers of council here: West Sussex County Council, Mid Sussex District Council, and then a network of town and parish councils. In East Sussex there is a similar structure, whilst Brighton and Hove City Council is just a single tier.
Since coming to office in July 2024, the Labour government has been keen to do two things:
- Devolution: passing powers down from Whitehall and giving those powers to a newly established Sussex mayor.
- Local Government Reorganisation (LGR): creating ‘unitary authority’ councils who will combine the responsibilities of the county council with the district council (as things stand the town and parish councils will remain unchanged - at least in the next few years).
Looking at the second of those two changes - creating unitary authorities - the big question has been what the footprint of each new unitary authority will be. There are a number of considerations that need to be balanced, e.g. the population of each authority, the financial viability of any new council, and the shared sense of identity that people living in any new authority will feel.
A few months ago, there was a government consultation on a series of possible options, and I submitted my preference for the current footprint of West Sussex to be split into two councils with Mid Sussex being combined with Horsham and Crawley (and possibly Adur).
On Tuesday, the government shared their current thinking. Instead of backing any of the options in the winter consultation, they want to consult on a new option. This would see Mid Sussex form part of a larger authority with Horsham, Crawley, and Chichester. Brighton and Hove would gain some parishes that are currently part of East Sussex, and the rest of East Sussex would be a single council. I shared my initial thoughts on Facebook.
Having had a few days to reflect on it, my main concern is that this process has been full of starts and stops. Mayoral elections delayed to 2028, local elections on and off, and all the while, local government staggers on, facing rising demand for its services, and without the budgets to meet that need. The government’s stated aim of reorganising local government is to deliver cost efficiencies, but their approach which chops and changes is only adding complexity and pressure to authorities who are striving to deliver good local services for residents.
Stepping Down from the District Council
Last week I resigned as one of the Hurstpierpoint District Councillors on Mid Sussex District Council. I had hoped to step down in May last year, timed to coincide with the elections for West Sussex County Council. However, because of Local Government Reorganisation (see above) the 2025 elections were cancelled, and so stepping down now was the first opportunity to time a by-election to coincide with ‘all-up’ elections - the most thrifty option for the tax payer.
It’s been very special to be a councillor for the village where I live, so it is bittersweet to step back now. You can read more about it here.
The business of care homes
As the Liberal Democrats’ spokesperson for Care and Carers, I found an article about the business behind care homes revealing. I have visited a number of care homes and met several care home owners since taking on this role and I do know that there are many different reasons why people end up in a sector that is fractured and fraught with challenges. This is serious journalism worth your time.
And finally, Londonistan
It’s always good to try to understand people whose world view is different to our own, and so I applaud Lewis Goodall from the News Agents podcast for visiting CPAC in Texas last week. I found this special episode of his podcast fascinating.
Getting in touch
My parliamentary email address is: alison.bennett.mp@parliament.uk. If you need my help, please get in touch.
Best wishes,
Alison
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