Rationale for scoring: 3 unitary authorities

• 1 unitary authority: strongly disagree
• 2 unitary authorities: strongly disagree
• 3 unitary authorities: strongly agree

Optimal balance of scale and local responsiveness

Each proposed unitary has a population between 278,000 and 336,000, this is large enough to achieve efficiencies but small enough to remain close to communities.

Meets Government criteria for resilience

While below the 500,000 guideline, the proposal justifies this with strong evidence of functional need and strategic opportunity, ensuring councils can deliver sustainable services without creating a democratic deficit.

Financial sustainability from day one

Baseline modelling shows all three councils start in a viable position, with projected cumulative savings of £220m over eight years and recurring annual savings of £49m.

Avoids single-point failure risk

A single county unitary would concentrate financial and operational risk in one structure. Three councils distribute risk and create more resilient organisations.

Capacity for transformation

Each council will have sufficient tax base and organisational scale to invest in digital innovation and preventative service models.

Supports efficiency without remoteness

The model avoids the inefficiencies and democratic deficit of a mega-council, while still enabling economies of scale through shared procurement and collaboration.