Latest news: All 10 councils in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have sent an expression of interest to the Government confirming they are interested in becoming a Foundation Strategic Authority for the area. You can read the full expression of interest (pdf 348kb).
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What Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation means
The government plans 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.
Foundation Strategic Authority
A Foundation Strategic Authority is the first tier of the government's new devolution model. It provides powers and funding that are not currently available to individual local authorities.
The government want ‘strategic authorities’ created. And they want to see elected Mayors leading these new ‘strategic authorities'. An FSA is an important stepping-stone towards the greater powers available to a Mayoral Strategic Authority.
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
LGR - The Government is considering proposals submitted by councils in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent on what would work best in our area. Stafford Borough Council submitted their business case 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 with a public consultation taking place in February and March 2026. All the businesses cases and further information can be found from the dedicated LGR website
A decision on the LGR model for Staffordshire is expected this summer. New unitary councils would go live in 2028.
FSA - The Government will now consider the expression of interest and determine whether to invite the area into formal negotiations; request further information; set out a timeline for next steps.