English Devolution White Paper: 7 Takeaways
On Monday 16th December the Government unveiled its English Devolution White Paper.
Stephenson Mohl Group’s have read the whitepaper and produced the seven key takeaways to understanding what the Government means “Devolution by Default”…
The need for greater Devolution is linked with key issues of economic under-performance and falling trust in politics. Further Devolution is viewed as critical – and all of England should benefit, not just city regions.
The Government wants a tier of Strategic Authorities across England, providing a ‘consistent approach’ to what is currently a confused tangle of bodies and geographies. The Government will be given the power to create SA’s even where there is no local agreement.
The Government ‘will put Mayors front and centre’. There remains the option of non-mayoral ‘Foundation Strategic Authorities’ but they will have far fewer powers. There is a clear preference for ‘Mayoral Strategic Authorities’ of approximately 1.5 million population across England in the fullness of time.
‘Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities’ will enjoy the most devolution of all, principally in the form of integrated financial settlements. Six existing combined authorities will immediately qualify – Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, the North East, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire.
The direction of travel towards giving more powers to Mayors is accelerating. Mayors will take on more powers in areas such as Housing, Strategic Planning, Economic development/regeneration, Rail transport and, increasingly, Environment and Climate change. This is starting to look like a significant package of powers.
The Government is opening the possibility of Mayors taking over the functions of Police and Crime Commissioners and Fire and Rescue Authorities, even where more than one authority is involved. They have signalled a long-term aim to align boundaries across public services, including in health.
Local Government Reorganisation will continue on its path towards unitary authorities. There are only 21 remaining two-tier county areas in England - almost as many counties are already unitary or comprise multiple unitaries - and proposals for reorganisation in the remaining areas have been invited. A guide population of 500,000 (ie similar to County Durham) is suggested, but proposals will emanate locally and decisions made on a case-by-case basis; with an ‘ambitious first wave of reorganisation in this Parliament’.