FI16849

Request

The response doesn't answer the actual point raised.

I am not asking for a general explanation of the statutory framework in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. I am asking a narrower and more specific question:

What exact legal power, and what recorded local authority decision or authority, did Dover District Council rely upon to justify:

committing to and participating in reorganisation activity;

any related preparatory work or expenditure;

submission or support of reorganisation proposals;

doing so before any Structural Change Order was in force;

doing so without prior public consultation; and

doing so without renewed democratic mandate.

Your reply recites the general statutory route under the 2007 Act, but that does not answer the question above.

A White Paper is not law. A ministerial invitation is not, by itself, a complete answer to the question of what recorded local legal authority Dover relied upon for present expenditure, commitment, and preparatory action at proposal stage.

You have now expressly stated that what is mandatory arises only once the Secretary of State decides to proceed and a Structural Change Order is made. That makes the present question even clearer: what was the lawful basis for Dover’s earlier and current discretionary participation before that stage?

For the avoidance of doubt, this is not a new FOI request. Nor is it an invitation to restart the process by repeating generic statutory background. It is a request for a clear answer to the point already raised and not answered in either the substantive reply or the internal review.

Please therefore answer the following directly and without further general commentary:

Identify the precise statutory provision or provisions Dover says authorised its participation in reorganisation activity at the point it began.

Identify the precise statutory provision or provisions Dover says authorised any preparatory expenditure incurred or committed before any Structural Change Order existed.

Identify the recorded decision route relied upon by Dover, including whether this was by Cabinet, Executive, officer delegation, Full Council, Section 151 sign-off, Monitoring Officer advice, or other route.

Identify the specific report, minute, delegation, resolution, officer record, budget approval, or legal note relied upon.

Confirm whether Dover’s position is that the 2007 Act alone authorised present local expenditure and commitment at proposal stage; if so, please identify the exact section said to provide that authority.

If Dover instead relies on general local authority powers, executive arrangements, budget-setting powers, delegated authority, or officer powers, please identify those precisely and the recorded document in which that reliance appears.

If no such recorded authority exists, please say so plainly.

A later consultation on pre-formed proposals does not answer the question of what legal authority Dover relied upon to begin or support reorganisation activity beforehand. Nor does a later possible Structural Change Order retrospectively authorise earlier discretionary commitment and expenditure.

This matter is now part of a wider parliamentary scrutiny context, and supporting evidence has already been provided through those channels. Clear answers are therefore required now, not further delay or repetition of general background.

The issue is simple: future implementation may become mandatory later; that does not explain what law Dover relied on to act and spend beforehand.

Please now provide a clear and direct answer to that question.

Response

The statutory framework has already been set out to you in the internal review response dated 10 March 2026. 

Please also see the report to the special cabinet meeting on 17 March 2025, together with the minutes, where the decision was taken to finalise a submission to the government in response to the LGR invitation.  This can be found online at: https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1 

Please also see the report dated 19 November 2025, together with the minutes, relating to Local Government Reorganisation – Final proposal to ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  This can be found online at: https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=122&MId=5256 

Local authorities possess a number of general and specific powers enabling them to engage in preparatory, exploratory or consultative work relating to potential governance changes, including those proposed or invited by government. 

These are set out below: 

• Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972, which enables a local authority to do “anything… which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions.”
• Section 1 of the Localism Act 2011 (General Power of Competence), which confers on a local authority the power to do anything that an individual may do, subject to statutory limitations. This includes undertaking non‑binding preparatory work in relation to a proposed Government policy initiative.
• Section 3 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, which provides for engagement in governance‑related activity in response to Government-issued invitations or emerging structural review processes. 

These powers permit councils to engage in preparatory activity, information‑gathering, option appraisal, officer work, joint working with neighbouring authorities, and participation in Government‑initiated exploratory processes, even before any Structural Change Order is laid before Parliament. None of these activities amount to implementing structural change; they constitute permitted preparatory work undertaken within the Council’s general powers. 

The Council therefore considered itself entitled to participate in preliminary activity from the point at which Government invited discussions and initiated the national process. This participation did not involve committing the Council to any structural change, nor did it require prior public consultation, as no decision affecting the constitutional status of the authority has been taken. 

The district has not incurred any direct expenditure on LGR. As reported to Council in November, each area nationally has been awarded funding to contribute towards the development of proposals. Kent and Medway were awarded £514,410 by letter on 9 July 2025. Kent Council Leaders agreed to use this money collectively to develop a shared evidence base, options appraisal and business case(s) to prepare for the 28 November 2025 submission and procure the necessary external support and expertise to meet the deadline. All expenditure to date has been undertaken by KCC utilising this funding. 

Activities to date have been exploratory and non‑binding. No decision has been taken that commits the Council to any structural change, and no Structural Change Order currently exists requiring such a decision.