MPs say devolution plans in Levelling Up White Paper do not go far enough

The call was made by the Devolution All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), which launched an inquiry into the devolution provisions in the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper.

A number of recommendations were made by the APPG, including a call to review the requirement to have a directly elected mayor as the head of a combined authority.

Most of the inquiry’s recommendations encourage the Government to give more power to local communities and leaders.

The group called for a "clear framework" that allows local areas to negotiate deals which fit within existing institutional structures rather than reserving the most significant powers for areas content to follow the centrally preferred model, which involves having a directly elected mayor.

Another recommendation said the Government should work with councils to expand the devolution framework, "particularly when considering public health but also for example looking at skills, further education, careers; policing, powers over business rates and the white paper's 12 missions to understand where new functions and resources are going to be needed for these to be successfully delivered".

The APPG made four more recommendations:

• The Government should reform the process for local areas to access central government funding, aligning the allocation of public money with local outcomes to allow local authorities to optimise systems and achieve their priorities. "This will provide a more stable basis for local areas to access key funding that they need to take a longer-term approach to addressing local needs, while reducing the administrative burden on authorities to access funding."
• The Government should align the rollout of integrated care systems and health devolution in future local government devolution deals, establishing a clear and tangible target for narrowing the gap in Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) between the highest and lowest performing areas, and identify a clear role for local and combined authorities in meeting this target.
• The Government should commit to supporting organisations in the delivery of the effective transfer of knowledge and expertise between areas that have already successfully negotiated a devolution deal and those yet to embark on the process.
• The Government should ensure that future devolution deals place public health at the centre.

Chair of the APPG, Andrew Lewer MP said: “The appetite for new devolution deals is very clear, and we know from our evidence that where they are right, they can be transformative.”

He added: “The Government must, however, listen more to local communities about what they want and what works for them. For levelling up to truly succeed, it must be locally led and draw on the deep well of skills and experience in our existing local government structures.”

Welcoming the inquiry's findings, Cllr Kevin Bentley, Chairman of the LGA's People and Places Board, noted that "there is an urgent need to turbo charge the speed at which we are devolving powers to local areas".

He added that with a new Prime Minister taking office, "it is vital that the Government recommits to its plans to empower our communities and roll out devolution across England as quickly as possible".

"This includes continuing to provide areas with more powers to deliver improved transport systems, create local employment opportunities and attract economic investment in their communities", he said.

"Turning levelling up from a political slogan to a reality will only be achieved if councils have the powers and funding they need to address regional inequality, tackle concentrations of deprivation and make towns and communities across England attractive places to live, work and visit."

Adam Carey