Lancashire County plots course for judicial review of govt reorganisation

Rather than languish in purgatory over whether or not the transformation of the existing 15 council system into a four unitary authority one will go forward, the Reform-led county council has opted to issue a protective claim to enable it to pursue a potential legal challenge.

The decision to issue the claim was made on Thursday during a cabinet meeting. The protective claim will buy Lancashire County Council time to weigh its options, without incurring legal costs in the meantime. It is necessary because government announced the reorganisation on 16 July, before putting a pause in the process in September.

That pause has put the reorganisation of Lancashire into a no-man’s land, with uncertainty whether the entire scheme will be abandoned, tweaked, or go forward.

While government deliberates the matter and plans its next move, time is ticking for the ability to file for judicial reviews challenging that initial 16 July decision. The deadline for a judicial review filing is 16 October.

Despite letters and conversations with the government, Lancashire  County Council Leader Cllr Stephen Atkinson said he was no closer to finding out the government’s intentions than he was at the announcement of the pause.

Atkinson has been a fierce opponent to local government reorganisation and unwavering in his statements that it should be scrapped.

Therefore, he was keen that the county council retain its ability to oppose the initiative should it be resumed.

His fellow Reform county councillors seemed similarly frustrated with the lack of clarity from government on the reorganisation changes.

“Pathetic is the only way I can describe it,” said Cllr Tom Pickup.

He added: “We’ve got this massive dark cloud of uncertainty over the future. We’re now in a situation where because of this delay… how are we supposed to make long-term decisions?”

Should the government choose to abandon local authority reorganisation in Lancashire, the county council would be able to withdraw its protective claim. If it opted to go forward with the proposals, the county council would have to meet again to decide whether or not to pursue a judicial review.