The future of on-hold plans to shake up Warwickshire's councils may not be known for another month – including what the public will be voting for in 2027.

Plans to abolish the county's six county, district and borough councils and replace them with two new unitary councils covering the north and south of the county have been paused by the national government amid threats of legal challenges to reorganisation proposals for other areas of the country.

It has prompted a backlash with Warwickshire councils uncertain whether local elections in 2027 will be to the new councils or the current districts and boroughs, whether the future of the shake-up itself is at risk or whether the decision to go with councils covering the north and south of the county may be changed. The case for a single county-wide unitary was made by Warwickshire County Council and Rugby Borough Council.

A report to Stratford-on-Avon District Council's cabinet – the Liberal Democrat panel of councillors in charge of major service areas – states that councils have been told "there is no predetermination of the result of the review" but that government officials "cannot see a situation where we could hold shadow (unitary) elections in May 2027".

MPs return to Westminster next week following a recess for party conferences with updates rather than decisions expected to follow.

Stratford-on-Avon District Council leader Cllr Susan Juned told fellow cabinet members and leading figures from opposition groups that councils should know what is, or isn't, happening "somewhere at the end of October, maybe into November".

She confirmed the district had calculated its costs for work so far – approximately £100,000 more than the government's grants, and that's before officer time – in case the plug gets pulled but expressed hope the current two-unitary proposal would go ahead.

"We will make sure the government is aware of that and if they decide to abandon LGR, which I do hope they won't, the council will seek reimbursement for these costs," she said.

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"It has caused a lot of chaos, not least because there are members of staff who have been taken on solely for the purpose of overseeing this transition. That is not a good position to be in."

Her reference to timescales prompted a cautious comment from chief executive David Buckland.

"I think we are right to be a bit circumspect about the date of October 12," he said.

"There is a little bit of backsliding about whether or not we will actually find out the result of the review on the 12th itself, what we are expecting in the first instance is a timetable and the scope of the review.

"The MJ (Municipal Journal) was reporting last week that some councils could still go ahead in April 2028. I haven't heard an official say that at the moment but it will be interesting to find out after the announcement whether that might be possible for some councils."