Consultation outcome

Consultation on proposals for locally-led reorganisation of local government in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset

Updated 22 July 2021

Applies to England

Scope of the consultation

Topic of this consultation: This consultation seeks views on the locally-led proposals that the Secretary of State has received following his invitation to councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Somerset to submit proposals for local government reorganisation. The proposals in this consultation were submitted by:

Cumbria:

1. Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council
2. Barrow Borough Council and South Lakeland District Council
3. Carlisle City Council and Eden District Council
4. Cumbria County Council

North Yorkshire:

5. Craven District Council, Harrogate Borough Council Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council and Selby District Council
6. North Yorkshire County Council

Somerset:

7. Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset West & Taunton Council and South Somerset District Council
8. Somerset County Council

It asks a number of questions about each proposal to help inform the Secretary of State’s assessment of the proposal, including:

  • whether each proposal will improve local government
  • whether there is a good deal of local support in the round for the proposal
  • do the proposed new council areas cover a credible geography

Scope of this consultation: This consultation relates to the structure of local government in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset

Geographical scope: These proposals relate to England only but may have implications for the areas and councils involved in the Borderlands Growth Deal[footnote 1].

Impact assessment: An Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this consultation as it will only affect local government in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset and so there will be no direct regulatory, economic or social impacts.

Basic Information

To: We welcome the views of all those interested in these proposals, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses and the voluntary sector. 

Before implementing a proposal, the Secretary of State is required to consult any local authority that is affected by the proposal (but which has not submitted it), and any such other persons as he considers appropriate.  

The Secretary of State is therefore consulting the councils which made the proposals, other councils affected by the proposals and the councils in neighbouring areas which may be affected by the proposals.  

He also considers it appropriate to consult public service providers, including health providers and the police, Local Enterprise Partnerships, and certain other business, voluntary sector and educational bodies. A full list of named consultees is at Annex B.

The Secretary of State will carefully consider all views expressed, including from local residents, as well as from named consultees.

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation: This consultation is conducted by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Duration: This consultation will last for eight weeks closing at 11.45pm on 19 April 2021.

Enquiries: For any enquiries about the consultation please email Governance Reform and Democracy Unit - unitaryconsultation@communities.gov.uk.

How to respond

Please go to the section ‘Responding to this consultation’ below, where you will find links to the consultation questionnaire for each proposal included in this consultation.

Alternatively, you can email your response to the questions in this consultation to unitaryconsultation@communities.gov.uk.

If you are responding in email or writing, please make it clear which area and questions you are responding to.

Written responses should be sent to:

Governance Reform and Democracy
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

When you reply it would be very useful if you confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

  • your name
  • are you responding as a resident or on behalf of an organisation? Please indicate as below:
    • resident living in area affected
    • resident not living in area affected
    • business organisation
    • education organisation
    • local government organisation - principal council
    • local government organisation - parish/town council
    • local government organisation - other
    • police organisation
    • fire organisation
    • health organisation
    • other
  • your position in the organisation and the organisation’s name (if applicable)
  • an email address

Introduction

1. Residents and businesses in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset are currently served by a two-tier system of local government. County Councils are responsible for services such as adults’ and children’s social care, maintaining roads, libraries and waste disposal, and the District and Borough Councils are responsible for service such as rubbish collection, housing and planning and environmental health. The City of York Council is a unitary local authority which is responsible for all local government services in its area.

2. Councils in these three areas have been developing ideas about restructuring local government for some time and in each area, some or all of the councils have requested an invitation from the Secretary of State to submit proposals for unitary local government – a single tier of local government delivering all of the local government services for the area.

3. The government’s approach to local government reorganisations is locally-led, on the basis that those in a local area are best placed to know what is best for the area. This broader policy position was reaffirmed by the Secretary of State in a written ministerial statement published on 12 October 2020.

4. On 9 October 2020, in response to these requests, the Secretary of State invited the councils in all three areas, including associated existing unitary councils, to submit locally led proposals for unitary local government. The invitations invited proposals for a single tier of local government permissible under the primary legislation, explained that proposals could be submitted by a council individually or jointly with other councils receiving the invitation and included guidance on what the proposals should seek to achieve, to which the councils were required to have regard. These invitations started the legislative process for restructuring local government in the three areas, which is set out in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (the 2007 Act).

5. The Secretary of State received 8 proposals by the specified deadline of 9 December 2020, 4 from councils in Cumbria, 2 from councils in North Yorkshire and 2 from councils in Somerset.

6. The 2007 Act requires that, before a proposal for local government reorganisation can be implemented, the Secretary of State must first consult any local authority that is affected by a proposal (but which has not submitted it), and any such other persons as he considers appropriate.

7. In deciding which proposal, if any, to implement in an area, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Secretary of State will make a balanced judgement assessing the proposals against the three criteria set out in the statutory guidance accompanying the invitation, and having regard to all representations received, including responses to this consultation, and to all other relevant information available to him. These criteria, which reflect longstanding criteria for assessing unitary proposals, are that - a proposal should seek to achieve for the area concerned the establishment of a single tier of local government, that is the establishment of one or more unitary authorities:

a. which are likely to improve local government and service delivery across the area of the proposal, giving greater value for money, generating savings, providing stronger strategic and local leadership, and which are more sustainable structures; 

b. which command a good deal of local support as assessed in the round overall across the whole area of the proposal; and 

c. where the area of each unitary authority is a credible geography consisting of one or more existing local government areas with an aggregate population which is either within the range 300,000 to 600,000, or such other figure that, having regard to the circumstances of the authority, including local identity and geography, could be considered substantial. 

8. Respondents, including local residents, are able to respond in relation to one or more of the proposals included in the consultation, although we expect respondents to comment only on the proposals affecting their area; the responses will help to inform the Secretary of State’s careful consideration of the proposals.

The government’s invitation to the councils

9. On 9 October 2020, an invitation to develop proposals for the creation of new single-tier (unitary) authorities was issued to the following councils.

Cumbria

  • Allerdale Borough Council
  • Barrow Borough Council
  • Carlisle City Council
  • Copeland Borough Council
  • Cumbria County Council
  • Eden District Council
  • South Lakeland District Council

North Yorkshire and York

  • City of York Unitary Council
  • Craven District Council
  • Hambleton District Council
  • Harrogate Borough Council
  • North Yorkshire County Council
  • Richmondshire District Council
  • Ryedale District Council
  • Scarborough Borough Council
  • Selby County Council

Somerset

  • Bath and North East Somerset Council
  • Mendip District Council
  • North Somerset Council
  • Sedgemoor District Council
  • Somerset County Council
  • Somerset West & Taunton Council
  • South Somerset District Council

10. The invitation issued by the Secretary of State on 9 October 2020 was issued under Part 1 of the 2007 Act. It invited the councils to make proposals for the restructuring of local government, which could take the form of any of the types of proposal permissible under the 2007 Act:

Type A: a single tier of local authority covering the whole of the county concerned.

Type B: a single tier of local authority covering an area that is currently a district, or two or more districts in the county concerned.

Type C: a single tier of local authority covering the whole of the county concerned, or one or more districts in the county; and one or more relevant adjoining areas.

Combined proposal: a proposal that consists of two or more Type B proposals, two or more Type C proposals, or one or more Type B proposals and one or more Type C proposals.

11. The invitation specified that any councils responding to the proposal must have regard to the Secretary of State’s guidance appended to the invitation. This guidance is as follows:

Guidance from the Secretary of State for councils submitting proposals:

1. A proposal should seek to achieve for the area concerned the establishment of a single tier of local government, that is the establishment of one or more unitary authorities:  

a. which are likely to improve local government and service delivery across the area of the proposal, giving greater value for money, generating savings, providing stronger strategic and local leadership, and which are more sustainable structures;  

b. which command a good deal of local support as assessed in the round overall across the whole area of the proposal; and

c. where the area of each unitary authority is a credible geography consisting of one or more existing local government areas with an aggregate population which is either within the range 300,000 to 600,000, or such other figure that, having regard to the circumstances of the authority, including local identity and geography, could be considered substantial.

2. The following matters should be taken into account in formulating a proposal:

a. A proposal should describe clearly the single tier local government structures it is putting forward, and explain how, if implemented, these are expected to achieve the outcomes described in paragraph 1 above. 

b. The need for evidence and analysis to support a proposal and any explanation of the outcomes it is expected to achieve, including evidence of a good deal of local support. 

c. The impact of any proposed unitary authorities on other local boundaries and geographies. If the area of any proposed unitary authority crosses existing police force and fire and rescue authority boundaries, the proposal should include an assessment of what the impact would be on the police forces and/or fire and rescue authorities and include the views of the relevant Police and Crime Commissioners and Fire and Rescue Authorities

d. Any wider context for any proposed unitary authorities around promoting economic recovery and growth, including possible future devolution deals and Mayoral Combined Authorities. 

e. If the proposal submitted by 9 November 2020 is an outline proposal it should indicate what further material is expected to be provided and when this would be submitted which should be no later than 9 December 2020

12. Paragraph 1 of the guidance sets out the criteria to be used by the Government when considering and assessing proposals for unitary local government.

Paragraph 2c required any proposals proposing a unitary authority which crosses existing police force and fire and rescue authority boundaries, to include an assessment of what the impact would be on the police forces and/or fire and rescue authorities and include the views of the relevant Police and Crime Commissioners and Fire and Rescue Authorities. This reflects that the invitation permits proposals that include one or more districts from outside county boundaries to be included which may have implications for the police and fire and rescue services.

The councils’ proposals

13. Proposals for locally-led reorganisation of local government were received from the following councils by 9 December 2020.

Cumbria

  • Allerdale Borough Council and Copeland Borough Council submitted a joint proposal for two unitary councils covering the whole of the area of the administrative county of Cumbria: one unitary council in the West comprising the current districts of Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland; and one in the East comprising the current districts of Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland.

  • Barrow Borough Council and South Lakeland District Council submitted a joint proposal for two unitary councils covering the whole of the area of the administrative county of Cumbria and the administrative district area of Lancaster City within Lancashire County: one unitary council (“The Bay”) comprising the current districts of Barrow, Lancaster City (in Lancashire) and South Lakeland; and one comprising the current districts of Allerdale, Carlisle, Copeland and Eden districts in “North Cumbria”.

  • Carlisle City Council and Eden District Council submitted a joint proposal for two unitary councils covering the whole of the area of the administrative county of Cumbria: one unitary council in the north comprising the current districts of Allerdale, Carlisle and Eden; and one in the south comprising the current districts of Barrow, Copeland and South Lakeland in the south.

  • Cumbria County Council submitted proposal for a single unitary council for the whole of the area of the administrative county of Cumbria County.

North Yorkshire

  • Craven District Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council and Selby District Council submitted a joint proposal for two unitary councils covering the whole of the area of the administrative county of North Yorkshire and whole of the area of the administrative area of the City of York; one unitary in the east comprising the current districts of Ryedale, Scarborough, Selby and the current unitary of York; and one in the west comprising the current districts of Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate and Richmondshire.

  • North Yorkshire County Council submitted a proposal for a single unitary council for the whole of the area of the administrative county of North Yorkshire with no changes to the existing City of York unitary.

Somerset

  • Mendip District Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Somerset West & Taunton Council and South Somerset District Council submitted a joint proposal for two unitary councils covering the whole of the area of the administrative county of Somerset County; one unitary council in the west comprising the current districts of Sedgemoor and Somerset West & Taunton and the other in the east comprising the current districts of Mendip and South Somerset in the east.

  • Somerset County Council submitted a proposal for a single unitary council for the whole of the area of the administrative county of Somerset.

This consultation

14. All 8 of the proposals submitted are for a type of proposal which is permissible under the 2007 Act. The Secretary of State is consulting on these proposals and welcoming views from any interested persons, including residents, before he makes any assessment of the merits of the proposals or considers them against the criteria.

15. The 2007 Act requires that before a proposal for local government reorganisation can be implemented, the Secretary of State must first consult any council affected that has not submitted the proposal, as well as any other persons that he considers appropriate. We welcome views from any interested persons, including residents, and a full list of named bodies being consulted on each proposal are at Annex B.

16. The detailed information and supporting analysis within each councils’ proposal are not summarised in this document as the detailed proposals are accessible on the councils’ websites through the hyperlinks in this document. You can choose which proposals to review further and which to comment on through this consultation through clicking on the links below.

Responding to the consultation

17. Do you wish to review and comment on:

18. The above links will take you to the proposals via the Department’s online consultation platform which you can use to respond. The links below will take you directly to the proposals.

Cumbria

North Yorkshire

Somerset

19. Alternatively, you can email your response to the questions in this consultation to unitaryconsultation@communities.gov.uk.

20. If you are responding in email or writing, please make it clear which area and questions you are responding to.

Written responses should be sent to:

Governance Reform and Democracy
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

When you reply please confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

  • your name
  • are you responding as a resident or on behalf of an organisation? Please indicate as below:
    • resident living in area affected
    • resident not living in area affected
    • business organisation
    • education organisation
    • local government organisation - principal council
    • local government organisation - parish/town council
    • local government organisation - other
    • police organisation
    • fire organisation
    • health organisation
    • other organisation
  • your position in the organisation and the organisation’s name (if applicable)
  • an email address

21. This headline information about respondents – whether you are responding on behalf of an organisation or an individual and some other background information – will be used to help us understand the responses.

What happens next?

22. The consultation will close at 11.45pm on 19 April 2021.

23. The Secretary of State is consulting on these proposals before he has made any assessment of the merits of the proposals. He will consider all of these proposals carefully, the responses he receives to this consultation, all representations he receives and all other relevant information, assessing the proposals against the criteria below before reaching a balanced judgement on which proposals, if any, to implement.

a. Is it likely to improve local government and service delivery across the area of the proposal, giving greater value for money, generating savings, providing stronger strategic and local leadership, and more sustainable structures;

b. Does it command a good deal of local support as assessed in the round overall across the whole area of the proposal; and

c. is it a credible geography consisting of one or more existing local government areas with an aggregate population which is either within the range 300,000 to 600,000, or such other figure that, having regard to the circumstances of the authority, including local identity and geography, could be considered substantial.

24. The Secretary of State may decide, subject to Parliamentary approval, to implement a proposal with or without modification, or to not implement any proposal for an area. He may also seek advice from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England. If any proposals are to be implemented, we would expect new unitary councils to take on full council role from April 2023, with the transitional arrangements in 2022-23 to support a smooth implementation.

25. The Secretary of State’s decisions will be communicated to the councils as soon as practicable.

Consultation questions

This consultation seeks views on the Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset councils’ proposal and in particular on the following questions in relation to each proposal:

Q1. Is the councils’ proposal likely to improve local government and service delivery across each area? Specifically, is it likely to improve council services, give greater value for money, generate savings, provide stronger strategic and local leadership, and create more sustainable structures?

Q2. Where it is proposed that services will be delivered on a different geographic footprint to currently, or through some form of joint arrangements is this likely to improve those services? Such services may for example be children’s services, waste collection and disposal, adult health and social care, planning, and transport.

Q3. Is the councils’ proposal also likely to impact local public services delivered by others, such as police, fire and rescue, and health services?

Q4. Do you support the proposal from the councils?

Q5. Do the unitary councils proposed by the councils represent a credible geography?

Q6. Do you have any other comments with regards to the proposed reorganisation of local government in each area?

Please indicate reasons for your answers.

About this consultation

This consultation has been designed in line with the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation, including personal data, may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), the General Data Protection Regulation, and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the Freedom of Information Act and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will process your personal data in accordance with the law and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included at Annex A.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Annex A: Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are be entitled to under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Note that this section only refers to your personal data (your name address and anything that could be used to identify you personally) not the content of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@communities.gov.uk

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

The Data Protection Act 2018 states that, as a government department, MHCLG may process personal data as necessary for the effective performance of a task carried out in the public interest. i.e. a consultation.

3. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

Once data has been analysed and consultation is concluded, it will then be stored within Parliament Libraries with redacted information. Therefore no personal data will be shared post consultation.

4. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.

Your personal data will be held for two years from the closure of the consultation

5. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, erasure

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you
b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record
c. to ask to have all or some of your data deleted or corrected
d. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

6. Your personal data will not be sent overseas

7. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making

8. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system

Annex B: Named consultees

We welcome the views of all those interested in the proposals, including local residents, town and parish councils, businesses, and the voluntary sector. In this annex we list for information those who are specifically named consultees.

The 2007 Act requires that before a proposal for local government reorganisation can be implemented, the Secretary of State must first consult every authority affected by the proposal (except the authority or authorities which made it); and any such other persons as he considers appropriate. This consultation is specifically inviting comments from the following councils and other named bodies:

Cumbria consultees

Principal councils in the area

  • Allerdale Borough Council
  • Barrow Borough Council
  • Copeland Borough Council
  • Cumbria County Council
  • Carlisle City Council
  • Eden District Council
  • Lancashire County Council
  • Lancaster City Council
  • The district councils within Lancashire County
  • South Lakeland District Council

Neighbouring principal councils

  • Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council
  • Blackpool Council
  • Durham County Council
  • North Yorkshire County Council
  • The district councils within North Yorkshire County
  • The district councils within Lancashire County
  • Northumberland County Council
  • North of Tyne Combined Authority
  • North East Combined Authority

Other named consultees

Public Service Bodies

Health Bodies: NHS Morecambe Bay CCG, NHS North Cumbria CCG, Calderdale & Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, North Cumbria Integrated Care Foundation Trust, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Policing, Fire and Rescue Bodies: Chief Constable of Cumbria Constabulary, Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, Chief Fire Officer of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service, Chief Fire Officer of Lancashire Fire and Rescue, Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (Peter McCall), Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner (Clive Grunshaw).

Other Public Sector Bodies: Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Lake District National Park Authority, North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Solway Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Independent Chair of the Cumbria Children’s Safeguarding Partnership, Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Adults’ Board, Dumfries & Galloway Council, Scottish Borders Council, Transport for the North.

Business Bodies: Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, Federation of Small Businesses (Lancashire & Cumbria), Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership, Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Sellafield Ltd.

Voluntary Sector Bodies: Cumbria Community Foundation, Cumbria Council for Voluntary Services, Cumbria Third Sector Network, Lancaster Council for Voluntary Services.

Education Bodies: Lancaster University, University of Central Lancashire, University of Cumbria.

Other Bodies: Cumbria Tourism, Lord-Lieutenant for Cumbria, Lord-Lieutenant for Lancashire.

National Bodies: Environment Agency, Highways England, Local Government Association, National Housing Federation, National Association of Local Councils, Public Health England.

North Yorkshire consultees

Principal councils in the area

  • City of York Unitary Council
  • Craven District Council
  • Hambleton District Council
  • Harrogate Borough Council
  • North Yorkshire County Council
  • Richmondshire District Council
  • Ryedale District Council
  • Scarborough Borough Council
  • Selby District Council

Neighbouring principal councils

  • Bradford Metropolitan District Council
  • Cumbria County Council and the district councils within Cumbria County
  • Darlington Borough Council
  • Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council
  • Durham County Council
  • East Riding of Yorkshire Council
  • Lancashire County Council, the district councils within Lancashire County
  • Leeds City Council
  • Middlesbrough Council
  • Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council
  • Stockton on Tees Borough Council
  • Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
  • Sheffield City Region Combined Authority
  • Tees Valley Combined Authority
  • West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Other named consultees

Public Service Bodies

Health Bodies: Bradford and Craven CCG, Morecambe Bay CCG, North Yorkshire CCG, Vale of York CCG, Airedale NHS Trust Hospital, Bradford District Care Trust, Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, Humber Coast and Vale ICS, Humber Teaching Foundation Trust, South Tees Foundation Trust, Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.

Policing, Fire and Rescue Bodies: North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (Julia Mulligan), Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, Chief Fire Officer of North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Other Public Sector Bodies: Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, North Yorkshire Moors National Park Authority, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, Independent Chair of the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board, Independent Chair and Scrutineer of the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children’s Board, Transport for the North.

Business Bodies: Federation of Small Business (Yorkshire, Humber and the North East), West and North Yorkshire Chambers of Commerce, York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, Yorkshire & Humber CBI.

Voluntary Sector Bodies: Community First Yorkshire, York CVS.

Education Bodies: University of York, York St John’s University.

Other Bodies: Lord-Lieutenant for North Yorkshire, Welcome to Yorkshire.

National Bodies: Environment Agency, Highways England, Local Government Association, National Housing Federation, National Association of Local Councils, Public Health England.

Somerset consultees

Principal councils in the area

  • Mendip District Council
  • Sedgemoor District Council
  • Somerset County Council
  • Somerset West & Taunton Council
  • South Somerset District Council

Neighbouring principal councils

  • Bath & North East Somerset Council
  • Bristol City Council
  • Devon County Council and the district councils within Devon County
  • Dorset Unitary Council
  • North Somerset Council
  • Wiltshire Council
  • West of England Combined Authority

Other named consultees

Public Service Bodies

Health Bodies: NHS Somerset CCG, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, The Somerset Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (ICS).

Policing, Fire and Rescue Bodies: Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner (Sue Mountstevens), Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Police, Chief Fire Officer of Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service.

Other Public Service Bodies: Somerset Rivers Authority, Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cranbourne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Mendip Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Quantock Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Independent Chair Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board, Somerset Safeguarding Children Partnership, Independent Chair of the Somerset Corporate Parenting Board, Western Gateway, Peninsula Transport.

Business Bodies: Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership, Somerset Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors (South West), Federation of Small Businesses (South West), CBI (South West)

Voluntary Sector Bodies: Spark Somerset.

Other Bodies: Lord-Lieutenant for Somerset, Visit Somerset (Somerset Tourism Association).

National Bodies: Environment Agency, Highways England, Local Government Association, National Housing Federation, National Association of Local Councils, Public Health England.

  1. The Borderlands Partnership brings together the five cross-border local authorities of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland Council and Scottish Borders Council to promote the economic growth of the area that straddles the Scotland-England border.