Council chiefs are expecting a final decision on local government reorganisation in Staffordshire within the next two months.

All 10 principle councils in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire are set to be abolished and replaced with new unitary authorities as part of a national shift away from two-tier local government.

Earlier this year the government carried out a public consultation on five options for the new unitaries, which were proposed by the existing councils.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council leader Jane Ashworth told a cabinet meeting that she expected the government to announce the final decision before the House of Commons recess on 16 July.

She gave the update on LGR as she introduced a report on the council's new operating plan for the period 2026 to 2028.

Cllr Ashworth believes it is likely that the model chosen by government will include a single unitary covering the North Staffordshire area.

Other options would see an east-west split, or Newcastle remaining separate to the rest of North Staffordshire.

Cllr Ashworth said: "We expect to see – and this will be confirmed before the summer parliamentary recess – clarity on the way forward for local government reorganisation in Staffordshire. Exactly what that will look like we won't know until the government announcement.

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"But I think we're confident that there will be some form of North Staffordshire unitary authority, where we will have a far better chance of having more organised and rational planning on matters to do with transport, economic development, skills and education.

"So this will be a year of transition, and everything else we talk about has to be seen in that context."

Cllr Ashworth said she also expected the government to announce the creation of a foundation strategic authority for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, which will see the city and county council working together on strategic issues, as the first step towards a Greater Manchester-style mayoralty.

According to its latest forward plan, the cabinet will receive a report on both LGR and the foundation strategic authority at some point between 16 June and 13 October.

Under the government's timetable, elections to the shadow unitary authorities will take place next year, with the new councils taking over in 2028.

But the idea of a North Staffordshire authority and LGR as a whole remain controversial subjects in Staffordshire, and critics have questioned whether such a big change can be accomplished in just two years.