Blog: 8th December 2023 - Capsticks, Corporate Partner

Deepening Devolution following the Autumn Statement 2023 and the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act 2023 

The Chancellor announced further commitments to devolution as part of the Autumn Statement which follows the enactment of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.

Devolution and combined authorities

As we know, the government’s stated “mission” is for every part of England to have a devolution deal, if it wants one, by 2030. The Act provides yet another type of combined authority model – “combined county authorities” which would be made up of upper tier local authorities (county councils and unitary authorities), with district councils being able to become “non-constituent members”.

The Act in principle seeks to “simplify” some of the existing arrangements for devolution with the intent of speeding up the process, providing more opportunities to extend and deepen existing arrangements, moving the focus to be more outcome led.

New devolution deals

The government announced four new deals in the Autumn Statement and expanded Level 2 devolution deals to eligible councils. The new devolution deals announced were:

• Level 3 - a single institution or County Council with a directly elected mayor, across a functional economic area or whole county area

      - Greater Lincolnshire – this deal anticipates the Mayor taking on roles around careers advice and resilience

      - Hull and East Yorkshire – this deal includes £15m for “transport, flood and costal erosion programmes”

Both deals feature a new collaborative partnership with Department for Culture, Media and Sports’ National Delivery bodies.

• Level 2 - a single institution or County Council without a directly elected mayor, across a functional economic area or whole county area with fewer devolved powers

      - Cornwall – will exercise the devolved powers itself

      - Lancashire – to establish a non mayoral combined authority with Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwin

In addition, there will be a new ‘Level 4’ within the devolution framework available to combined authorities, combined county authorities (see above) and local authorities (with a Level 3 deal) and is expected to provide new local transport powers, post 19 skills policy and “strategic housing powers” predominately relating to affordable housing and net zero.

Level 4 deals will not at present include access to the single financial settlement which has been offered to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

Accountability and Scrutiny

With the provision of more power and flexibility, it is important to ensure that appropriate frameworks in place establishing transparency and accountability of the local decision makers. Effective scrutiny will be critical in achieving this. The Act supports attendance at overview, scrutiny and audit committees through amending remuneration provisions.

The government has recently (22 November 2023) published a Scrutiny Protocol which builds on the existing scrutiny and accountability arrangements in place by setting out 18 key principles for good scrutiny which intend to be highly focused to achieve clear outcomes. The Scrutiny Protocol should be seen as supplementary to statutory guidance and relevant legislation and applies to the arrangements of overview and scrutiny committees in all English institutions with devolved power.

 

Tiffany Cloynes, Head of Local Government, and Rebecca Gilbert, Principal Associate, Capsticks