The Devolution APPG provided an open forum for local leaders and parliamentarians
The LGA has long called for genuine devolution to local areas, believing that greater fiscal freedom – the power to raise more money locally and have greater control over how this money is spent in local areas – is a crucial part of this process.
Councils in England are only able to levy council tax and business rates, and both remain subject to significant intervention and control by national government.
Over the years, one of the ways we have sought to influence this agenda is by providing support to the Devolution All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG).
The group provided an open forum for local leaders, parliamentarians and others to discuss UK-wide devolution.
From conducting inquiries to providing witness evidence and bringing key stakeholders together, the APPG explored how national ambitions can be best delivered through devolving powers to local places.
The Government’s framework for devolution, introduced in the 2022 Levelling Up White Paper, was a welcome step in ensuring local leaders have the tools and resources to fulfil local aspirations, and continues to be enhanced.
However, there is still much more that can be done, and further powers that could yet be devolved. One example is the LGA’s long-standing Work Local campaign, an ambitious programme for the devolution and integration of employment and skills services, for which the LGA continues to campaign.
“There is still much that can be done, and further powers that could yet be devolved”
In making the case for further devolution to local places, the APPG conducted a series of inquiries over the years, including in 2020 its ‘Levelling-up devo’ inquiry, which explored the role of local leadership in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inquiry argued that, when implementing levelling up, the Government should reimagine the British state, empowering local areas to reduce the burden on central government.
The report called for councils to have the right powers to support local recovery post-pandemic, and to ensure continued, place-based economic growth.
Reduced bureaucracy, decentralised policy thinking and departing from the ‘one size fits all’ approach, echoed throughout the report’s key recommendations.
These included a call for a reformed approach to devolution developed in partnership between national and local government, and a move away from the traditional drivers of departmental spending and competitive bidding in line with some of the world’s most productive economies.
Building on this work, the Devolution APPG’s second inquiry looked at the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper and heard evidence on how to best reflect local needs in future devolution deals.
The report set out a series of recommendations for government, including how it should work with councils to enable further powers to be transferred. It also recommended aligning the rollout of integrated care systems and health devolution in future devolution deals.
It found that the White Paper’s approach does not suit every area in England, and that more agile and locally driven deals, set against an agreed set of overarching principles, could better achieve the kind of growth local areas want and need.
Fiscal devolution, for example, was noted as a key area of concern, with a fragmented landscape causing a postcode lottery of investment and opportunity.
The APPG hosted supplementary evidence sessions to reflect on the LGA’s own 2022 ‘Levelling up locally inquiry: place and identity’.
This outlined how councils are leaders of people and place that want local economies to thrive, our vulnerable people looked after, and our places to be attractive and healthy environments – but that the ambitious levelling up agenda was being held back by centralised powers.
Separate to the APPG’s inquiry work, the group invited thought leaders and speakers to explore where further devolution might be possible. It examined issues including transport, high streets, fiscal devolution, and public health.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport from 2019 to 2023, met the APPG to discuss government work on reflecting the different geographies of the UK when assessing local transport needs.
Lady Vere also highlighted the importance of good national relationships with local mayors, to ensure the right level of support is available.
Stephen Joseph, Visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire and a transport policy consultant, spoke to the group about his work as adviser to the Rail Devolution Network.
Prof Joseph explained that devolution of local rail services has been shown to work, but that beyond the UK’s major cities, transport is not discussed enough. It was argued that devolution could be a useful catalyst in leading to more reliable and locally responsive transport infrastructure.
The APPG also examined research from the Centre for Cities on how high streets could recover following the pandemic. The research demonstrated that the pandemic turned the performance of the high street on its head, with a shift to online shopping, and concluded that high streets needed to incorporate a more experience-based economy.
In August 2022, Cllr Nicolas Heslop, the then Chairman of South East Councils, was invited to present a report commissioned by the organisation calling for a two-year fiscal devolution trial in the south east; while Andrew Carter, Chief Executive at the Centre for Cities, argued that for fiscal devolution to work, there must be clear incentives for local government.
He told the APPG that reform of business rates and council tax should come first, before any further fiscal devolution.
LGA Vice-Chair Cllr Marianne Overton, at the ‘Lessons from overseas’ inquiry, highlighted that the UK is an international outlier and one of the most fiscally centralised countries in the developed world.
In November 2022, the APPG heard from Jim McManus, the then President of the Association of Directors of Public Health.
Drawing on experiences from the pandemic, Prof McManus identified two key points to fix the current system: a behavioural and mindset reset to encourage local system design and collaboration; and a new public health act for the 21st century.
Former Care Minister and Health Devolution Commissioner Phil Hope called for national-level support for local practices and local health funding, and for policies across sectors to reflect public health support. A focus on health inequalities for public health leaders would allow for a better understanding of how different factors drive ill health.
As our work with the Devolution APPG draws to a close (for now), the LGA would like to thank all those who have been involved in the APPG and contributed to its inquiries and meetings.
In particular, we are grateful to the APPG’s Chair and LGA Vice President, Andrew Lewer MP, whose long-standing support led to the delivery of the aforementioned reports and provided a platform to explore effective devolution.
We would also like to thank all the officers of the APPG over the years, including LGA vice presidents. We also pay tribute to the late Lord Kerslake, who served as LGA President for six years between 2015 and 2021.
Lord Kerslake was a great advocate for councils and his commitment to devolution and respect for local government has been instrumental in the progress that has been made.
Find out more about Work Local. See our website for more on the LGA’s parliamentary and lobbying work.