Cllr George Perfect, Medway Conservatives Leader, speaking after the statement from the Secretary of State, said:
"The Conservative Group is absolutely astonished by the news that Local Government Reorganisation in Kent and Medway has been paused. For months, councils across Kent and Medway have devoted vast amounts of officer time, political effort and public resources to developing proposals for new unitary authorities, with implementation scheduled for April 2028. Medway Council alone has invested significant financial resources and countless hours of officer work into this programme in good faith, only for the Government to pull the plug at the eleventh hour.
This is merely the latest in a series of chaotic decisions from Government that have left Medway's Labour administration exposed and scrambling for answers. First came the mishandling of the Devolution Priority Programme, followed by the abandonment of Option 4d after £105,000 of taxpayers' money had already been spent developing it. Now, with the entire reorganisation programme effectively placed on ice, residents are once again left wondering whether this Government has any coherent plan for the future of local government.
The Government has serious questions to answer. How could councils be encouraged to commit such significant time, money and resources to a process that is now being postponed? What assessment has been made of the financial impact on local authorities that have acted in good faith throughout this process? And crucially, what support and reimbursement will be provided to councils that have incurred substantial costs as a direct result of the Government's decisions?
In the coming weeks, my priority will be to secure clarity on what happens next for Medway and for local government reorganisation across Kent and Medway. Residents and taxpayers deserve transparency, certainty and accountability, and I will continue to press the Government for answers on the future direction of this programme and the reimbursement of the money already spent."
