Additional team and channel-related features and issues within Microsoft Teams for business
Dear Callum Butler,
Good day! Thank you for posting in the Microsoft Community. We will be happy to help you.
It sounds like you’ve encountered a common issue in Microsoft Teams. The “General” channel is indeed reserved and automatically created when a new team is set up. you are right! I tested the same on my end, it seems the General channel no longer automatically created when creating a Team from scratch (a basic team), seems currently to get this General channel created, you need to use the More create team options and choose the "From another team" or "From a template" and use the "Manage a Project" for example.
This behavior will be reported to Microsoft for confirmation, and we will monitor it. We will provide you with an update as soon as we receive it.
Thanks in advance for your understanding! Your patience and cooperation will be highly appreciated.