County issues legal threat following delayed reorganisation decision

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) was scheduled to confirm which unitary authorities would be formed in Sussex last month.

However, in a meeting between the department and the leaders and chief executives of Sussex councils last month (25 March), ministers said they planned to defer the final decision until the summer.

The Government will also conduct a short, technical consultation on modifications to the proposals after local elections.

In a statement issued the same day as the meeting, West Sussex said that it appeared as though the Government planned to discount the council's preferred option for a single unitary covering West Sussex.

MHCLG has not yet confirmed its preferred approach to reorganisation in Sussex.

Speaking at a full council meeting on 27 March, the leader of West Sussex, Paul Marshall, claimed the Government appeared to wish to "reshape Sussex based on Brighton and Hove's agenda".

He also alleged that the Government had ignored its own devolution paper and the framework for reorganisation that it proposed.

He said that the council "will engage" with the new consultation, but added: "If we find that the Government makes a decision on a model that is completely out of kilter with the devolution framework without any due diligence or that demonstrates an ability to deliver services, then we will consider a judicial review."

Cllr Marshall later said the reorganisation timetable would now prove "enormously challenging and unlikely to be a deliverable model, because there is no due diligence done on it".

"The two models that were submitted were done with due diligence and with clear opportunities of what that programme looked like for implementation," he added.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.

Adam Carey