Rayner urges county and unitary leaders to join “devolution revolution”

In the letter, seen by Local Government Lawyer, Angela Rayner encouraged councils to begin discussions with neighbouring authorities over new combined or combined county authorities to benefit from having powers over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support.

She said that while the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will not force places to adopt a metro Mayor, "it will not shy away from making the case for their huge advantages, with some powers continuing to be reserved for institutions with directly elected leaders, such as Mayoral Combined Authorities".

She added: "We continue to believe that new devolution settlements should be tailored to sensible economic geographies so that local leaders can act at the scale needed to effectively deploy their powers.

"In the majority of cases that will require local authorities to come together in new combined or combined county authorities.

"I encourage you to begin discussions with your neighbouring authorities on this basis."

The letter comes a week on from the government meeting with all 12 current metro mayors in Downing Street, to announce its intention to "reset" its relationship with local government and increase devolution.

Only around half of the people in England currently live in a region with a metro mayor, according to the Ministry.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister and Secretary of State discussed efforts to establish a 'Council of Nations and Regions', which would bring together the Prime Minister, the leaders of the devolved administrations, and metro Mayors.

In her letter Rayner wrote: "I want to see more places represented at that Council, with more Mayors at the table."

She also said the Ministry wants more regions to benefit from integrated settlements, "with access for mayoralties with capacity, strong accountability structures and exemplary track records of financial management".

The government is also set to move away from its predecessor's deal-based approach to devolution, according to the document.

Instead, the government will set out "clear conditions and a clear offer in return for places seeking devolution agreement, and will enshrine a presumption towards devolution, so places can take on new powers automatically if they meet certain conditions".

The correspondence touched on financial concerns as well, noting: "My Cabinet Colleagues and I also understand that all too many councils are facing financial strain and have been left balancing new obligations with higher costs and interest rates after a decade of financial mismanagement from the centre. Rest assured, we will ensure that you have the resources to deliver new devolved powers and functions."

A new devolution framework is set to be published, setting out the new powers and flexibilities available to councils.

According to the letter, councils should make proposals by the end of September to participate in the first set of devolution settlements.

Commenting on the letter, Cllr Tim Oliver, Chairman of the County Councils Network, said: "We welcome the announcement that the government will continue with the county combined authority model that helped unlock the devolution logjam, and a new framework must be focused on expanding the current range of powers on offer to local areas, rather than ripping up the process and starting fresh.

"For instance, where a combined authority is not required, the government should continue to devolve powers directly to the county or unitary authority."

Cllr Oliver also noted that the government has confirmed it will be flexible on governance arrangements, which he said was the right approach.

He added: "Whilst there are benefits to mayors or directly-elected leaders, the reality is they are unsuitable for some county areas, as shown over the last few years.

"However, all county and unitary councils are hugely ambitious for their areas, and choosing not to have a mayor should not stymie those ambitions and those places should have as much of a strong voice with the government as those that do have a mayor."

Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen, Chairman of the District Councils' Network, said: "We are eager for district councils to play a central role in driving devolution forward alongside our other local partners. We were pleased that the government voted to support giving districts a constituent role in new devolution deals when it was in opposition.

"We look forward to positive discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister about how we can put this principle at the heart of a new wave of devolution that will bring jobs, growth, housing and prosperity to the communities we all serve."

Adam Carey