Devolution and local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire

In December 2024, the government published the English Devolution White Paper which sets out proposals for major changes to the way local government is structured and run.

The ambition is for:

all areas of the country to be covered by an elected Mayor – devolution
all 2-tier areas, like Hertfordshire, to be reorganised into single tier unitary authorities – local government reorganisation.

Our priority is to ensure that any changes benefit Hertfordshire’s residents and businesses, and maintain our excellent local government services.

Read the English Devolution White Paper (GOV.UK)

Devolution in Hertfordshire

Devolution involves giving powers that currently sit with the government to a local area. This allows local decision-makers to have more say in what happens in their area.

The government wants to achieve this by establishing "Strategic Authorities" led by elected Mayors.

A new Strategic Authority could be created covering just Hertfordshire, or Hertfordshire could join with neighbouring counties. The new authority would oversee areas such as:

housing
highways and transport
economic growth
skills and employment support
environment and climate change
health and public safety.

No proposals for how this might work in Hertfordshire have been put forward yet.

Local government reorganisation in Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire currently has a 2-tier system of local government with:

Hertfordshire County Council providing countywide services such as social care, highways, and education
10 district and borough councils delivering local services such as planning, leisure, housing, and waste collection.

Goverment has asked all 2-tier areas to submit interim proposals for how the reorganisation could work by 21 March 2025 – and full proposals by 28 November 2025. Letter to Hertfordshire (GOV.UK)

Hertfordshire also has 124 parish and town councils. The government is not currently proposing any changes to this these.

Next steps

All 11 councils in Hertfordshire, with the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, are working together to develop our response. This is at an early stage and it will be essential to get the views of residents, businesses, local government partners, colleagues, and other stakeholders across the public and private sectors.

Whilst proposals are developed, there won't be any immediate changes to services provided by Hertfordshire County Council or the district and borough councils.

Timescales

We're working to these timelines, set out by the government:

21 March 2025 – submit interim local government reorganisation proposal.
1 May 2025 – Hertfordshire County Council elections.
28 November 2025 – submit full local government reorganisation proposal.
May 2027 – elections for shadow authorities. Shadow authorities are the new unitary council(s) before they formally take on all responsibilities.
April 2028 – when the new authority formally takes on all responsibilities (this is sometimes called "vesting day").

How many councils will Hertfordshire have in future?

No decisions have been made.

There are currently differing views on the future model for local government in Hertfordshire. A number of options will be put forward in our interim submission to government. We're working with district and borough councils to find the best way to protect and improve services to our residents, support our businesses to grow, and provide value for money.

Impact on County Council elections

Hertfordshire County Council elections are going ahead on 1 May 2025.

Unlike some areas, Hertfordshire County Council did not ask government to delay this year’s elections, nor apply for a fast-track devolution priority programme. We decided this would:

allow as much time as possible to gather information to develop proposals
ensure that the local democratic cycle was not interrupted.

Further reading

Hertfordshire County Council Leader statement on local government reform

Our response to the government’s proposals for devolution and local government reform

Devolution and reorganisation terms explained (Local Government Association)