A motion was agreed at Full Council in October 2023, which called on the council to consider whether current local government arrangements are the most appropriate form of governance for Cambridge.
This led to a public engagement exercise taking place during summer 2024. We recently published a report which included a summary of the findings from the summer engagement, as well as recommendations for next steps.
The report was considered by councillors at our meeting of Full Council on 28 November 2024, at which councillors agreed that the Leader should report back about next steps in summer 2025, following discussions with other local leaders and Ministers (or earlier depending on proposals in the English Devolution White Paper).
Current arrangements
Cambridge is currently served by two tiers of local government – Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council. Each provides different services over different geographies, although there are some overlapping responsibilities. A number of other public bodies also serve Cambridge, including the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (with its elected Mayor) and the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
Until 1974, when the current ‘two tiers’ were introduced, Cambridge City Council had wide ranging delegated powers, including responsibility for education, health, welfare, libraries, and transport.
About the public engagement
The public engagement exercise between early July and early September 2024 provided opportunities for people to comment in a number of ways, and the exercise received over 500 survey responses, with around 60 people attending in-person workshops.
The public survey posed a range of questions about current arrangements, such as whether they could be improved and whether options for a unitary authority for the Cambridge area should be explored or not.
No specific proposals for local government reorganisation were put forward; the purpose was to facilitate discussion, and to capture people’s thoughts about whether there are changes that could be made to improve the way local government works for them and the city.
Highlights from the survey findings include:
- Just over half of respondents had a good or full understanding of which council is responsible for different services
- A recurring theme emerged around the complexity of current arrangements and the impact this has on access to services and confusion over roles and responsibilities and democratic accountability
- Almost half of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that current local government arrangements can be improved
- Nearly 83% of respondents thought that options for a unitary authority for Cambridge should be explored in more detail.
For more details of the survey findings and a summary of the key points raised at the public workshops, see Annex to the November 2024 report to Full Council.
