New Research Explores The Future Shape Of Local Government In England

A new report from the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), produced in partnership with Local Partnerships, examines how England’s evolving governance system could operate by 2050. Drawing on a survey of 67 respondents from all existing combined authority areas and 10 interviews with senior leaders, mayors and officials, the research highlights both the opportunities and uncertainties created by current reforms.

With the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill and ongoing local government reorganisation set to introduce a single tier of local government and expand mayoral strategic authorities nationwide, the report notes that significant change is underway. However, respondents consistently identified a lack of clarity about the long-term purpose, powers and relationships of these emerging strategic authorities, and how they should work alongside councils and central government.

The report finds strong support for a strategic regional tier but no shared understanding of its core functions. While combined authorities have helped raise regional profiles and secure investment, they have not yet become the fully fledged strategic system leaders many anticipated. The Bill provides greater consistency but only limited new powers and does not define a long-term destination for devolution.

To address this, the research proposes a clearer functional settlement:

• Local authorities should lead frontline, people-centred services such as social care, children’s services, housing allocations and local public health.
• Strategic authorities should focus on functions where scale matters such as transport integration, spatial planning, regional housing markets, economic development, climate resilience and skills.
• Central government should set national frameworks, standards and long-term funding rather than micro-manage delivery.

Looking ahead, the report outlines three possible future-state scenarios for 2050: Integrated Regionalism, Localist Reset and Connected Governance. Each reflecting different balances of power between local, regional and national government. These are not predictions, but illustrative pathways showing the choices ahead for policymakers.

The authors emphasise that structural reforms will only succeed if supported by strong enabling frameworks, including resilient governance arrangements, mature cross-tier relationships, shared evidence bases, transparent accountability, and practical collaboration tools such as joint strategic planning templates and dispute-resolution mechanisms.

Concluding, the report argues that England now has the building blocks of a more coherent system, but that the long-term impact of reforms depends on intentional design. It sets out ten recommendations for government, including defining a clear national purpose for strategic authorities, mapping responsibilities across tiers, modernising Whitehall’s approach to devolution, rolling out integrated funding settlements, and establishing a pathway to 2050 with a clear level of ambition.

Read more and download the full report here