The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published implementation guidance for councils invited on 5 February 2025 to submit proposals for unitary local government under section 2 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (LGPIHA 2007), clarifying the governance arrangements that will apply during the transition to new unitary authorities.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published implementation letters to council chief executives in Suffolk, Norfolk, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight area, and Essex, setting out detailed expectations for delivering agreed unitary local government reorganisation, including actions required from councils, funding arrangements, and the next stages in the process.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published implementation letters sent to the chief executives of councils across 13 reorganisation areas in England. The letters set out how approved local government reorganisation proposals will be implemented through secondary legislation, including the transitional governance arrangements, implementation framework and practical steps required to establish new unitary councils. Separate implementation correspondence has also been issued for Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, where the government confirmed that it will proceed with the preferred two-unitary model, subject to Parliamentary approval, and for Thurrock, clarifying the role of commissioners during the transition.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a leasehold toolkit providing guidance on the leasehold landscape and future changes across England and Wales. The toolkit aims to build awareness, understanding and confidence in changes introduced by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 and the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill. The toolkit looks ahead to future changes for leasehold and covers the overview of current leasehold arrangements alongside the legislative reforms.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter to Surrey council leaders confirming that the Surrey (Structural Changes) Order 2026 has been signed, following approval by both Houses of Parliament, and has now come into force. The Order provides for the replacement of Surrey County Council and the 11 district and borough councils with two new unitary authorities as part of the reorganisation of local government in the county.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published its council tax information letter 2/2025, providing information for authorities on local council tax support schemes for the 2025–26 financial year. The letter summarises the provisions of the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/39 which were laid before Parliament on 17 January 2025 and come into force on 11 February 2025.This latest update continues the annual practice of offering direction to councils on reviewing and potentially revising their local schemes.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter to leaders of councils in England with elections scheduled for May 2026 where proposals for local government reorganisation have been submitted but not yet determined. In the letter, the Minister sets out the government’s programme to replace two-tier local government with unitary councils, refers to consultations already underway or planned on reorganisation proposals, and confirms the indicative timetable for elections to new councils in May 2027 and their establishment in April 2028.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter from Chief Planner, Joanna Averley, updating chief planning officers on recent and forthcoming changes to planning committees, biodiversity net gain (BNG) and planning application fees in England. The letter highlights the Town and Country Planning (Discharge of Local Planning Authority Functions) (England) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/854, which introduce a national scheme of delegation for planning applications, limit planning committees to a maximum of 13 members, and come into force on 31 October 2026. It also notes that statutory guidance has been published to support implementation and advises local planning authorities to amend their constitutions where necessary before the regulations take effect.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter from Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness, reminding council leaders in local government reorganisation areas to comply with the Recommended Code of Practice for Local Authority Publicity. The letter follows the launch of statutory consultations on proposals for unitary local government in six areas and responds to concerns that some council communications may have appeared to support particular reorganisation proposals. The Minister emphasised that all publicity must be lawful, cost-effective, objective, appropriately used, mindful of equality and diversity and issued with care during sensitive periods. She urged councils to seek advice from Monitoring Officers to ensure that taxpayer-funded communications remain impartial and compliant with the Code.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter to the leaders and chief executives of all 164 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging authorities in England concerning CIL exemptions for householder developers and self-builders. The letter, from Minister of State for Housing and Planning Matthew Pennycook MP, states that the government intends to consult on proposed amendments to the CIL Regulations 2010, SI 2010/948 intended to ensure householders and self-builders who would otherwise be eligible for a CIL exemption are not faced with unexpected liability charges as a result of procedural errors. For historic cases, the letter clarifies: (1) that charging authorities retain discretion over enforcement steps and timescales; (2) that escalated enforcement (including forced sale or criminal proceedings) is not mandated by the regulations and (3) that authorities may make ex gratia payments from general funds in exceptional cases where a householder developer would have been entitled to an exemption but failed to claim it in accordance with the required procedure.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Planning, Matthew Pennycook, to the Chair of HM Land Registry (HMLR), Neil Sachdev. The letter outlines MHCLG’s expectations and priorities for HMLR for the rest of 2025, focusing on its role in registering and protecting land and property ownership and supporting an efficient property market. Pennycook calls on HMLR to digitalise and modernise its systems and services, digitalise and improve the home buying and selling process through the Digital Property Market Steering Group, improve accessibility to existing data and information on land, collaborate with MHCLG on reforms to increase transparency of land ownership and control, and support MHCLG in implementing its leasehold and commonhold reforms. In response, Sachdev welcomed Pennycook’s recognition of HMLR’s foundational economic role and outlined how HMLR intends to meet these expectations and priorities.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published a letter to the Chair of Homes England, setting out the government’s expectations and priorities for the Agency for the remainder of the 2024-25 financial year.