What is a structural review?
A structural review is used to establish whether one or more single, all-purpose councils, known as unitary authorities, should be established in an area instead of the existing two-tier system.
What do we do?
We carry out structural reviews at the request of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government under Sections 4 to 6 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (PDF).
After completing the review we provide the Secretary of State with our advice on the issues that have been specifically asked. We will make a recommendation for what unitary structures we think should be implemented.
The Secretary of State then decides whether or not to implement our recommendations.
Please note the Government does not request our advice in all cases, and initial enquiries regarding unitary local government should be made to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
Current structural reviews
The Secretary of State has asked for our advice in relation to bids for unitary status for Exeter City Council, Ipswich Borough Council and Norwich City Council.
We started reviews of the whole counties in which these towns/cities are based in on 3 March 2008. (Devon, Suffolk and Norfolk). We have been requested to provide advice by 31 December 2008.
Further information on these reviews can be found on the following pages:
You can also view our Frequently Asked Questions on structural reviews.
Follow this link to find further information for financial officers (PDF) from our financial consultants. We have also created a log of queries from finance officers (PDF), and our financial consultants' responses to them. This document is updated regularly.
Each structural review has a Chief Financial Officer, appointed as a provision of Section 151 of the Local Government Act, 1972.
Previous structural reviews
Between 2003 and 2004 we were directed by the Deputy Prime Minister to carry out local government reviews recommending unitary authorities in the North East, North West and Yorkshire & the Humber regions, before planned referendums on elected regional assemblies took place.
Between 1992 and 1995 the Local Government Commission for England reviewed the structure of local government across all the two-tier areas in England. As a result 46 new unitary authorities were created.
