New legislation requires neighbourhood engagement.
After months of speculation, briefings and ministerial assurances, the Minister for Local Government and English Devolution unveiled the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on 10 July.
When the Government published the English Devolution White Paper last December, the LGA recognised that it had acted on our long-standing call to transfer power out of Whitehall and into the hands of local leaders – where it should be.
In a deeply centralised country, we know that devolution can play a huge role in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, helping to create jobs, drive innovation and strengthen vital public services. Crucially, it brings powers and resources closer to those most affected by their use – communities and local businesses.
In preparation for the bill, we have been working with, and listening to, our members closely – through our policy boards, during member visits and webinars, and via wider engagement with our special interest groups. We have worked alongside our political group offices and regional teams to ensure that the views of our members are considered throughout our work.
We have also made good use of our cross-party devolution task and finish group, which has provided invaluable insights and guidance over the past six months to shape our approach.
The message from the sector is clear: the success of devolution relies on councils, communities and public services working together with mayors in true partnership.
Where mayors hold devolved powers, delivery flows through councils, because bringing decision-making closer to communities makes operational, democratic and financial sense.
A successful system must embed this model, recognising that strategic collaboration across geographies depends on empowered councils, mayors and communities acting together.
Ahead of the bill’s publication, the LGA wrote to Local Government Minister Jim McMahon OBE to outline the sector’s priorities for genuine devolution.
We called on the minister to engage early and constructively with councils, and we reiterated that council leaders must have a clearly defined and meaningful role in the governance structures of new and existing strategic authorities – including strong scrutiny and accountability arrangements that respect and reflect local democratic mandates.
We also reminded the Government that local areas are best placed to decide what form of community engagement is appropriate for their context.
The bill introduces a duty on local authorities to make effective governance arrangements for neighbourhood areas. Doing this well – in a way that truly empowers communities – requires new burdens funding.
We will work with government to ensure neighbourhood and community engagement structures work well for the sector and empower communities to engage with wider public services, including the NHS, police and voluntary sector.
We have also argued that, in principle, the Government’s ambition to align public service boundaries and geographies offers the chance to increase local democratic accountability and bring greater coherence to the governance of key public services, such as health, transport, skills, economic development and planning.
However, the current piecemeal process of reform risks leaving some areas stuck with an indefinite period of misalignment.
Reforms under the NHS 10 Year Health Plan for England, such as the clustering of integrated care boards, are happening now, and these clusters are unlikely to match emerging or future strategic authority boundaries. This risks a second wave of re-clustering, which is a resource-intensive and time-consuming exercise.
To help mitigate this uncertainty, the Government should produce a transparent timeline for devolution beyond the Devolution Priority Programme areas. This should form the framework for NHS and other public sector reform, including police reform, to ensure a coordinated approach across the public sector, where coterminosity of services and alignment of geographies is the ambition.
The draft legislation presents positive responses to long-held LGA asks, including the formalisation of devolution through statute and a new enhanced devolution framework. It also presents challenges for the sector, including a move to simple majority voting, a lack of a formal role for local government within each area of competence, and a ministerial directive to be able to impose strategic authorities on areas.
Further, we recognise that the legislation, as currently drafted, does not provide significant new powers or responsibilities for London boroughs to evolve devolution in the capital. We will continue to work with our London members on the future of devolution there.
Genuine devolution also means giving local areas the powers and tools to shape their own futures. This includes the ability to raise and control resources, define local priorities and lead integrated public services in ways that reflect local needs.
We have called for: the right to request additional competencies, such as culture, to be added to the devolution framework; increased flexibility for investing the integrated settlement; and further exploration of fiscal devolution – including powers to introduce tourism levies where local areas want them.
We will also work with our members to think about the future of devolution beyond the immediate legislation.
Finally, sustainable, long-term funding for council services and infrastructure will be essential to successful devolution. Councils need the capacity to lead transformation – not just to manage delegation. Without this, we risk undermining the very objectives devolution is designed to achieve: growth, efficiency, equity, and better outcomes for residents.
We recognise that not every issue can be resolved through this bill alone, and that devolution is an ongoing, long-term process. However, we believe that this legislation presents a rare and important opportunity to empower local communities.
We are pleased to see that some of the concerns raised by our members have been addressed in the legislation already. The LGA will publish a detailed briefing of the legislation as introduced, and prior to the bill’s second reading in the House of Commons.
In the meantime, we have published a factual policy summary of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on our website.
We have also written to all councils to share our initial press statement and will be organising briefing sessions for members in the coming weeks.
The LGA will continue working closely with our members, partners, and parliamentarians (in the Commons and Lords) to shape this legislation, so that every council in England can secure devolution that works for them, their local economies and their residents.
Our devolution and local government reorganisation hub, and newly created mini-hub for the bill, will continue to host guidance and the latest views of the LGA, as well as further information about the support available to councils.
- Please continue to provide feedback via your LGA regional advisers and political group offices, as well as by emailing localism@local.gov.uk