Future of local government in Sussex

Introduction

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Video published 19 February 2025

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

Work is underway on two separate processes that will shape the future of local authorities and the delivery of services across the county.

Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government, specifically to newly created strategic authorities that will be led by a mayor

Local government reorganisation is the process of restructuring local authorities, specifically to move to a single level of councils in areas of England where there are currently two levels, such as West 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 to be on the government’s priority programme was approved in February 2025, which will help to unlock the benefits of devolution for Sussex sooner rather than later.

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 wants to create a single tier of councils in places such as West Sussex where there are currently two tiers.

While a combined mayoral authority with devolved powers 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 that areas with a population of around 500,000 people are served by one local council, hence the term ‘unitary authority.’

The leaders of West Sussex County Council and the seven district and borough councils wrote to ministers in March with our initial proposals.

There are several options on the table for government to consider, which are listed in the submission. Read more with a link to the submission.

Everyone will get the chance to comment on the options over the coming months before a more detailed proposal is submitted in September.

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.’