Devon is a great place to live and work and people feel a sense of connection to their communities. We have beautiful countryside, including two national parks, stunning coastlines, an abundance of heritage with two historic cities, good schools and nationally recognised universities. We also have major challenges such as an ageing population placing huge pressure on public services, significant pockets of deprivation, low skills, low wages, and a need for more opportunities for our young people.

Set out in the appendix to this interim plan is a detailed socio-economic, demographic and health context that describes our area including key economic drivers, growth opportunities and constraints. It also provides the context of our current local government structure, headline financial positions including council tax base, staffing and electoral numbers. It describes our wider public sector infrastructure including the health system and the range of strategic partnerships across the area.

Context of the devolution white paper

On 5th February 2025, the Minister of State for Local Government wrote to Devon County Council, along with all Devon district councils and the neighbouring unitary councils, Plymouth City Council and Torbay Council. The Minister asked for interim plans for local government reorganisation (LGR), to be submitted to the Government by 21st March 2025. The government has set out, as part of a statutory invitation, the criteria that proposals for LGR must meet. In responding to the Government’s invitation, we are committed to working closely with other councils, our other public sector partners, town and parish councils, national parks, community and voluntary organisations, business and others. We have already begun discussions with other Devon councils and with a broad range of stakeholders within the county. We will engage with residents as proposals develop.

At this stage, there is no agreement between Devon local authorities on a single preferred proposal for unitary local government and a range of different options are being considered. The Government has made clear that interim plans can consist of a number of ideas or options and that anything submitted by 21st March 2025 is not a final decision point. Our interim plan provides information about a number of different options. The Government’s feedback on these options will inform the development of a final proposal to be submitted by the new Council in November 2025.

Key considerations

The current two-tier system in Devon, alongside the existing unitary structures in Plymouth and Torbay, has served communities for many years. However, there are clear challenges that require consideration including financial pressures, service demand, and the need for greater integration of public services.

Experience from other areas that have undergone reorganisation demonstrates that unitary models can:

Simplify governance and decision-making.
Improve service integration, particularly between social care, housing, and health
Achieve financial efficiencies through economies of scale.
Achieve greater financial resilience through stronger balance sheets.

In considering the Government’s criteria and our own aims in the process of local government reorganisation, any future model must:

Be for a sensible economic area with an appropriate tax base, which does not create any undue advantage or disadvantage for one part of the area.
Have appropriate scale, aiming for a population of 500,000 or more, to enhance resilience and capacity – ensuring local government can withstand financial shocks, respond to service pressures, and operate efficiently in the long term.
Deliver improved services – creating structures that enable high-quality, accessible, and responsive local services. The Government has highlighted, in particular, the importance of considering the impacts of reorganisation for social care, children’s services, SEND, homelessness and public safety.
Achieve financial resilience – providing a stable financial foundation that delivers value for money, eliminates duplication, and reduces overhead costs.
Be locally accountable – ensuring strong democratic engagement, with decisions made at the right level and which deliver neighbourhood empowerment.
Align with wider public sector geography – recognising that health, policing, transport, and economic partnerships operate at different levels and need coordination across boundaries.
Develop a single ‘local plan’, increase housing supply to meet local needs while making sure development is in the right place and it is easier to secure investment from housing developers to pay for roads, schools and other vital infrastructure.
Create services which can protect the county from the effects of climate change and natural events such as flooding or a pandemic.
Support future devolution – we view the creation of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority as the start of our devolution journey and will explore ways to broaden and deepen collaboration with neighbouring councils in a Mayoral Strategic Authority, as we seek greater resources and powers to be passed from Whitehall to Devon.

Capacity and financial Rresilience

Any new local government arrangement in Devon must ensure councils have the scale and resources to be financially resilient. A key risk in any transition is the cost of change, the pace and scale of financial benefit realisation, the impact on financial reserves, outstanding liabilities, and the ability to manage demand-led services such as social care and children’s services. Existing financial pressures and commitments must be factored into any assessment of reorganisation. There should also be recognition of the impacts of partners’ financial resilience in delivering council services, e.g. without effective partnerships with health, social care costs could not be contained.

Maintaining ongoing responsible and prudent management of assets, liabilities, investments and capital financing must support the overall objectives and viability of structural change, providing the best possible legacy for any successor local authority.

Cost drivers and efficiency gains

Reorganisation presents opportunities for efficiencies, particularly through the reduction of duplication in back-office functions, senior management, the opportunity from economies of scale, and optimisation of physical assets and operating systems. Previous unitary transitions have demonstrated that efficiencies can be realised but require upfront investment and careful implementation.

Population size and government guidance

The Government has indicated that unitary councils should ideally serve a population of at least 500,000 to ensure viability. In Devon, potential models would need to reflect this principle while ensuring local governance remains effective, with area arrangements and strong partnership working with town and parish councils.

Potential risks – disaggregation and boundaries

One of the most significant risks in local government reorganisation is the fragmentation of services, particularly in areas such as children’s services, adult social care, and waste management. A fragmented approach could lead to inefficiencies and increased costs if core services need to be split across multiple authorities and poorer outcomes for the residents of Devon.
Similarly, boundary considerations must align with community identity, travel-to-work patterns, and economic geographies. Changes that disrupt existing functional partnerships could create inefficiencies and undermine the effectiveness of local government.

Co-design with local partners, business and residents

Throughout any change process, we are committed to working closely with other councils, our public sector partners and key organisations in the county, including town and parish councils, community and voluntary organisations, and business. We will also engage with residents as proposals develop and see the involvement and input of local communities as important throughout this process.

In the last six weeks, we have more than 60 regular and informal discussions with local authority partners and key stakeholders including:

DCC Leader and Chief Executive meetings with the 11 Councils
Individual 1-2-1 meetings between Leaders and Chief Executives
Local MPs – 8 (Steve Race MP, David Reed MP, Martin Wrigley MP, Caroline Voaden MP, Rebecca Smith MP, Sir Geoffrey Cox MP, Ian Roome MP, Mel Stride MP’s Senior Researcher)
Earl of Devon
DCC Leader and Chief Executive meetings with Torbay and Plymouth councils
Meetings of Devon Chief Executives Group
Weekly Chief Executive meetings with Torbay and Plymouth
Meeting with the Police and Crime Commissioner
Meetings with the Integrated Care Board and with local healthcare trusts
1-2-1 meetings of Chief Executive and Chief Executives of Local Health Care Trusts
Meeting with the Devon Association of Local Councils representing over 400 town and parish councils
Meetings of the Section 151 Officers across Devon and an agreement to data sharing.
Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Business Industry and the Federation of Small Business
Dartmoor National Park and Exmoor National Park Authorities
Higher Education – Exeter University

Informal stakeholder feedback has been positive about local government reorganisation and the potential benefits that can be achieved in terms of efficiencies and improved customer service, and the aims set by Government and our own guiding principles. There is broad agreement that reform is needed to achieve financial resilience and deliver services that meet the needs of our residents now and in the future. There is a firm recognition of the importance of having robust and solid evidence to help develop the final submission made in November. At the same time, several stakeholders have raised concerns over the pace of change and maintaining services during the process.

Our health system partners, One Devon ICS, and the Police and Crime Commissioner are strongly supportive of simplified local government arrangements at the right scale and the opportunities for reform and stronger partnerships across regional systems that is offered through local government reorganisation.

Our business representative organisations and Earl of Devon have highlighted the significance of the Devon identity and brand and having a sensible economic geography recognising regional connectivity and the right structure that can strengthen devolution arrangements. There was also a recognition of the importance of our history and culture and recognising this in the next stages of the process.

Our Association of Local Councils and National Parks have emphasised the need to be included in this process and the significance of their engagement to provide a local community voice and say in the changes planned. They have highlighted the opportunity to strengthen community empowerment with the right resources and decisions taken at a local level. We are delighted that both the Association of Local Councils and our two National Park Authorities are committed to co-designing and working on community and local representation as we move forwards with developing a full proposal.

We are committed to maintaining strong engagement and collaboration in future months as we review options and develop a detailed full plan. We will also carry out an extensive programme of public engagement to gain a strong understanding of the views of residents including their views related to place and identity.