Local Government Reorganisation: Why Meaningful Engagement Must Be at The Heart of Your Bid

As councils across England respond to the Government’s 2025 invitation to propose new unitary structures, one message from Whitehall is crystal clear: successful bids must be underpinned by evidence of genuine community and stakeholder engagement.

While the Government has been clear this is not a formal consultation at this stage, it expects every submission to demonstrate that it is informed by local voices, shaped by local needs, and built on broad-based support. This is not just a tick-box exercise or a communications strategy to outshine competing bids. It’s about building a credible and deliverable vision for local government that commands legitimacy in the eyes of both residents and ministers.

In the guidance issued by the MHCLG, councils are instructed to engage “in a meaningful and constructive way” with residents, businesses, staff, MPs, and public service partners. Final proposals must include a summary of the views received and – critically – evidence that concerns raised have influenced policy development. In other words, engagement must not only be widespread; it must be responsive.

This makes the quality of your engagement strategy just as important as its breadth. Councils need to apply a high standard of rigour to this process: a clear methodology, fair sampling, accessible formats, and robust coding and analysis. If your engagement is not designed with the Government’s criteria in mind, you risk collecting data that is hard to interpret, difficult to evidence – or worse, easy to dismiss.

This is where structured tools such as thematic codeframes are invaluable. By aligning engagement analysis with the Government’s key LGR assessment criteria – covering issues like geographic coherence, democratic accountability, service delivery, and financial sustainability – you ensure that every response is both captured clearly and usable as formal evidence. It allows you to present not just anecdotal feedback, but thematic insights that show you’ve listened to all corners of the community, including those harder to reach, on the issues that will make your bid stronger. How will you log engagement and collect data for reporting? Are you working hand in glove with report writers?

It also ensures your proposal doesn’t just state the benefits of your preferred model – but demonstrates how it has evolved in response to public input. That might mean refining boundaries, bolstering governance plans to maintain local representation, or adjusting assumptions about service integration based on user feedback.

This early engagement must be inclusive, strategic, and verifiable. Treat it not as a sales pitch, but as a foundational part of your business case. Done well, it will not only enhance your credibility with residents – it will give ministers the confidence that your proposal is the product of genuine engagement.

In short, your ability to show that you’ve listened, understood, and acted may be one of the most convincing parts of your submission. Anything less is not just a missed opportunity – it’s a risk to the success of your entire bid.