Latest news: Our business case has been submitted to the government. It would see one unitary council in the South of Staffordshire complementing a proposed single authority in the North. You can read that business case (pdf 4.3mb) and covering letter (pdf 184kb) to the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.
If you would like to receive updates on future changes to your council, please let us know by emailing lgrsbc@staffordbc.gov.uk.
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What Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation means
The government set out plans in December 2024 which will see all the district, borough, county and city councils in Staffordshire abolished and be replaced with larger unitary authorities. This is part of wider plans for Devolution. You can see more about this from the English Devolution White paper.
What ‘Devolution’ is
It would see a shift of powers from central to local and regional government. And this will involve reorganising the way your local council works.
Elected Mayor
The government want ‘strategic authorities’ created - which would be groups of local councils working together to cover larger areas. And they want to see elected Mayors leading these new ‘strategic authorities'.
The elected Mayor would have more control over how money was spent locally, and greater powers over key areas such as housing, transport and economic development. Mayoral-led strategic authorities can expect more funding from central government.
Local Government Reorganisation
It will see an end to ‘two-tier’ authorities. At the moment Stafford Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council deliver different services and functions to our communities.
For example, the borough council is responsible for the household waste collection service, planning, and parks. Whereas Staffordshire County Council deals with education, roads and social care.
The new unitary council would be responsible for all local government services within their area.
Next Steps
The Government invited councils to submit proposals setting out what would work best in their area. Stafford Borough Council submitted their business case at the end of November 2025 in collaboration with Cannock Chase District and East Staffordshire Borough councils - and this was supported by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
There were four further proposals put forward for unitary authorities in Staffordshire.
Read our business case (pdf 4.3mb). The alternative proposals can be seen from the other council websites.
A consultation will be carried out by the Minstry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government in 2026 with a decision on the LGR model for Staffordshire expected in the summer.
New unitary councils would go live in 2028.