The reforms are pretty radical I am surprised it's not reported on more:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c30n72j4nrqo
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Local government across England is often referred to as a patchwork.
Some places have both district and county councils that each provide some services; some places have one council that does everything, and some places have a mayor who oversees that.
Rayner's plan is to make the system similar across England. So bins and libraries, planning and leisure centres will all fall under one, single council.
Neighbouring areas would then be grouped together under what's called a strategic authority with a directly elected metro mayor. Recent examples of this include Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, who now fall under the East Midlands Combined County Authority, and elected their first mayor, Labour's Claire Ward, in May.
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The Mayors would also have the power to override planning decisions allowing them to consider the entire region rather than what might be a very NIMBY council.
Quote:
Local mayors are to be given powers over their area's transport under the plans.
It could mean London-style networks, where buses and light commuter trains are all run as part of the same system.
Some areas which already have mayors are doing this already. Greater Manchester has taken all bus services back under control as part of the Bee Network alongside its Meterolink tram, with plans to add commuter trains to the system by 2028.
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And this makes sense although it would take a while to implement as presumably you need to wait for the private contracts to expire.