Future of local government in Sussex

Introduction

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West Sussex County Council and our partners are at the forefront of plans for historic changes to local government across England.

The government has approved our joint bid together with East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council to create a Mayoral Combined Authority for Sussex and Brighton.

It will mean devolving powers, or in other words handing down responsibilities from Westminster to a mayor who is elected by people in Sussex.

Alongside the plans for devolution are separate but related plans for re-organising local authorities.

Here we look to summarise what these two processes mean for us here in Sussex.

Devolution

The government wants combined authorities to provide strategic leadership on issues including:

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

This will be for areas of more than 1.5 million people, such as Sussex.

The cabinets of West Sussex County Council and neighbouring East Sussex County Council and Brighton & Hove City Council agreed a joint bid to be part of the priority programme.

The bid was approved in February 2025, which will help unlock the benefits of devolution for Sussex sooner rather than later.

The government will run a consultation on the proposal, in which everyone will get the chance to have their say.

Have your say

Now is your chance to have a say on proposals for a Mayoral Combined Authority in Sussex and Brighton.

The government consultation opened on Monday 17 February and will close at the end of the day on Sunday 13 April.

It seeks views from everyone who lives and works in our county, and asks about:

The proposed geography
Governance arrangements
Supporting the economy
Improving social outcomes
Local government services
Improving the natural environment
Supporting the needs of local communities and reflect local identity

Take part in the consultation on proposals for a Mayoral Combined Authority in Sussex and Brighton.

Reorganising local government

At the same time as devolving powers, the government is also looking to create unitary authorities in places where district, borough and county councils currently exist.

So while a combined mayoral authority would deliver on big, strategic issues, unitary authorities will continue to operate most day-to-day services currently delivered by the county and district and borough councils.

The government’s aim is for areas with a population of around 500,000 people are served by just one local council, hence the term ‘unitary authority.’

All partners across Sussex will be discussing how this might be arranged, with further details expected from government soon.

What happens next?

There are currently no changes to local government or the services we deliver.

The government agreed to postpone nine local elections due to be held in May 2025, including here in West Sussex. We asked for this as part of our bid because we do not believe we would have been able to meet the timetable required of us to deliver mayoral elections in 2026. In addition, the devolution consultation would have taken place in the run-up to the elections, and councils are not allowed to take part publicly in sensitive matters during the pre-election period. In outlining its rationale for the decision, the government says it set the bar ‘very high.’