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Views on some of the local changes charities in Cambridgeshire need to think about

These are a number of changes within the local statutory sector (including councils and health services) that I think charities in Cambridgeshire should be keeping view and reflecting on within their risk registers.

This version of the blog was written at the end of April 2026 and is designed to be updated as the situation evolves. The is Part 1 of the blog, Part 2 looks at some of the national drivers that will impact charities.

Statutory services across the county are undergoing significant changes and are likely to look very different over the next three years. This will have a wide-ranging impact on the sector.

1. Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)

The government has announced major changes to how local government is organised, with the aim of simplifying structures by creating unitary authorities in areas that currently have both district and county councils.

We will find out the future structure for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over the summer. This would mean moving from the current system of a county council (Cambridgeshire), a unitary authority (council?) (Peterborough), and five district or city councils (Huntingdonshire, South Cambridgeshire, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, and Cambridge City), to two – or possibly three- unitary authorities that take on the responsibilities of both county and district councils.

More information on the national timelines on the government website and more locally on the County Council website, NAVCA and ACRE have developed resources aimed at the sector here.

This will have a real impact on the sector. Many of these councils have grant funds and work closely with organisations at a local level. Charities and community groups will have built strong relationships with staff and elected members, and there are likely to be considerable changes in personnel.

The reorganisation will be a massive drain on the councils, and they will need to be focusing on their statutory roles and in making things work in the early day. You will undoubtedly hear ‘safe and legal’ mentioned. Staff will have less time and energy available for the non-statutory type of work they may be doing with the sector.

I have concerns about grants. At best, funding levels may remain the same; at worst, we could see overall budgets reduce, as councils prioritise major statutory responsibilities such as SEND and adult social care.

For some organisations who are funded by multiple councils (including Support Cambridgeshire) there are real impacts if multiple grant pots are reduced to one. Will we get a single grant equal to all the individual ones received in the past?

There will be possible benefits, things will be more streamlined, there will be a need to have less relationships but the organisations will be slightly further away from the local communities many groups work in.

2. Devolution and the combined authority

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have had an elected mayor since May 2017, who leads the Combined Authority. The same government legislation that set out plans to reorganise local government also proposes strengthening the role of elected mayors.

The mayor already has responsibility for areas such as skills, economic growth and local transport, although funding is currently tightly ringfenced. This could change. We know that the Police and Crime Commissioner role will be incorporated into the mayoralty, as will the fire authority – an arrangement already in place in London.

It has been agreed to effectively bring public transport into the direct control of the authority, and the mayor is looking to gain additional powers from government to have greater influence over how funding is allocated.

There are still open questions about whether the mayor will take on further responsibilities for resilience, which currently sit across different councils. There was also discussion about moving public health to the Combined Authority, although this now seems unlikely, with the function expected to remain within each unitary authority.

Whatever happens, the Combined Authority will become increasingly influential and hold increasing budgets. How might this impact the sector, given that relationships with the mayor and the Combined Authority are likely to be less established than those with other areas of local government?

Many groups work in skills and economic development, especially in helping people access employment. The national and local priority to reduce economic inactivity, including the number of people not in education, employment or training (NEET), is unlikely to diminish. Funding will continue to be available over the next three years, with increased emphasis on programmes delivered through the mayor’s office.

Other areas that may be of interest to some in the sector:

• Public transport: has to include local transport schemes and these need support. How might this be achieved?
• Community safety and crime: are areas that the sector is funded under and it is important that this funding continues.
• How can we get sector more engaged and featuring higher in the strategies that the Combined Authority produce? At present the sector gets a cursory mention and the work it does is often undervalued or missed. We have to get better at demonstrating the impact we have.

3. Health

The health system has had a patchy relationship with the sector over the years and it could be argued that things were improving with the advent of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB). But that ICB is no longer in existence having merged with Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB and Herts ICB to form the Central East ICB, the second largest (by population) in England.

We are already seeing the impact, as staff leave (with over one third having gone) or move into new roles, and established relationships begin to disappear. Engagement with the sector has also reduced as teams focus on reorganisation, and this process is not yet complete, with further rounds of appointments still to come.

These changes coincide with the new NHS 10-year plan and a move to neighbourhood working (new guidelines here). There is much to be happy in the overall direction of travel. However, this change is taking place at a time of uncertainty, particularly around how funding will be allocated and how the can engage with the new system.

There must be a clear role for the sector, and it is important that we are well positioned to co-produce new solutions. We also need to ensure that prevention is properly resourced, enabling a genuine shift from reactive care to a more preventative approach.

4. Wider county issues

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will continue to be a delivery area, probably even for health (we are likely to see a health body covering the old ICB area) and so the changes in the statutory services and the role of the sector will still be framed by that area. We already know a lot of the issues and opportunities, but it is likely that Peterborough will become more integrated with parts of the county once it and the county council disappear.

We know that we live in a county of differences:

• Rural vs urban in Cambridge and Peterborough
• Affluent vs less affluent
• Big health inequalities
• Big income inequalities
• Better life chances in some areas than others.
• Difference in house prices
• Transport link differences

All of this impacts the role of the sector. Health partners are already saying that they will need to focus funding where need is greatest. This raises questions about whether areas in the south of the county may be more affected as resources are redirected away from lower- need communities?

We have already seen more targeted funding directed towards areas with higher levels of deprivation – so could this mean increased investment in parts of Peterborough and Fenland?

Growth prospects are different for different areas but there will continue to be major housing and infrastructure development. We will likely see the start of East West Rail, we are seeing increased housing growth especially around greater Cambridge but also more widely. Populations are expected to grow, both Cambridge and Peterborough were among the cities where growth has been highest nationally. We are seeing increasing economic growth in many areas but this may be increasing inequality as it is not spread evenly across the area.

Things to consider

The region is growing, but unfortunately so too are the levels of need and inequality. This will shape both what you can do and what you may want to prioritise.

There is a move to neighbourhood working from health and some of the local authorities. This has some real opportunities for the sector especially as there are moves to more holistic person centred opportunities.

There could be increases in contract size and this will mean more collaboration and consortia working for the sector. It is essential that these partnerships are formed before the contracts are announced to enable rapid applications.

Even if you are not funded by the council or health (or any other statutory partner) these changes are important as they are going to dictate priorities and ways of working moving forward. The changes may well impact on those you work with.

There will be a degree of turmoil in local government. Experience elsewhere shows that this can be challenging – three years after reorganisation in Cumbria they number of IT systems had actually increased from seven to nine! This is unlikely to be a smooth process, and many staff will be focused on managing change. As a result, this will present challenges for the sector.

The elected mayor will become increasing influential and there will be a need to look at relationships with their office for many in the sector. This post is often more Political (with a big P) than other local government.

Time and energy will need to be put in to maintain and build relationships as these will be key for the sector going forward.

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