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Lord Lansley (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 7 September 2026

Debate

Local Government Reorganisation

Contribution

My Lords, I draw the House’s attention to my registered interests as chair of the Cambridgeshire Development Forum. The House understands that the Government will not publish their legal advice, but are these decisions the result of specific legal advice about the nature of the decisions that were made or of changes of mind on the part of the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State? Would it not be better to start a rapid review by restating or amending the criteria against which the decisions are to be made? Would that not make the decisions, ultimately, less prone to legal challenge? Where Cambridgeshire is concerned specifically, we were told that there would be a decision in October. Is that still the case? We were also told that that would lead to elections on new boundaries in May. Presumably that is not to be the case. Finally, on strategic spatial planning, which I know the Minister—and I and others—supports, can she say that the lack of progress on unitaries does not mean that we cannot have progress on establishing strategic planning boards?

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