Council expands staff support while preparing for major local government reorganisation changes.

New support is being introduced for Portsmouth City Council staff as local government reorganisation continues, despite warnings it will bring “very big job cuts, inevitably”.

Portsmouth City Council is increasing support for staff as it prepares for local government reorganisation (LGR) in an effort to avoid service disruption.

The council’s human resources team is preparing employees for changes that could see Portsmouth, Fareham, Havant and Gosport councils merged into a new authority, known as South East Hampshire Council.

Cllr Cal Corkery clarified there would be no pre-determination of workforce changes and that existing roles would be protected until the first day of the new authority.

He said he would like to see “jobs defended as much as possible, we’ve got people in skilled professions across the area – i would hate an outcome of LGR to be mass redundancies as a result of this.”

Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson raised concerns about the suggested £67m budget deficit the new authority would inherit from Hampshire County Council on its first day of operation.

He said: “We all know the new council is going to lead very big job cuts, inevitably.

“It is an outcome of LGR which is why it’s such a stupid thing to do in the first place.”

Cllr Charlotte Gerada, leader of the Labour group, asked whether the council had written to the newly appointed chancellor, John Healey, and secretary of state for local government, Angela Rayner, seeking additional financial support.

Cllr Darren Sanders, cabinet member for housing, confirmed he would.

Cllr Russell Simpson said: “There’s been a lot of uncertainty and it’s been fast-tracked – when you rush something through you think about the consequences, the financial consequences.

“If they had aspiration of LGR or devolution they would do it over two terms not rushing it after one year.”

The council said preparation work is aimed at keeping services running smoothly while supporting staff. It warned that without these preparations, there is a greater risk of disruption, workforce instability and higher costs.

After a 2025 staff survey found some employees were worried about reorganisation, the council introduced regular staff briefings, question-and-answer sessions and a new Change Hub for managers. A version for all staff is also being developed.

The council is also working with trade unions, reviewing workforce data, identifying key roles and succession plans, and learning from councils that have already gone through reorganisation.