Welcome to the January 2023 edition of the LGA’s Devolution Improvement and Support Bulletin.
The Government is continuing to work with authorities to develop and agree deals. The North East Mayoral Combined Authority is the sixth area to have secured a deal with government, delivering on the Levelling Up White Paper’s commitment to offer every area of the country that wants one a devolution deal by 2030.
There are several new publications, essays and articles discussing the importance of devolution both within England and further afield. A recent research project highlighting the role that health devolution can play on improving local life expectancy has had its findings published in The Lancet Journal.
Delegates at the Convention of the North heard from the Secretary of State and Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Michael Gove announced new Investment Zones; named Lord Amyas Morse as the Chair of the new Office for Local Government; suggested devolution conversations are due to begin with Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire and& Warrington, and Hull and& East Yorkshire; and confirmed that detail on simplified funding and round three of the Levelling Up Fund will follow the March Budget. Lisa Nandy outlined Labour’s vision for the north, including local public accounts style committees and a legal obligation to consider all devolution requests.
Stories
£1.4 billion devolution deal for the North East
The government will offer the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority more than £1.4 billion over the next 30 years enabling the councils to plan for the longer term and unlock the benefits of devolution for 2 million people living in the area. Following a local consultation, people across Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham will also be given the power to directly elect a Mayor of the North East.
English devolution firmly on the political agenda
Both the Conservatives and Labour are actively talking up the potential of English devolution. The parties agree that the country’s economic weaknesses are driven by exceptional regional inequalities in wealth and health.
Metro-mayors’ accountability: what is it for, what form should it take?
The International Centre of Public Accountability has published a blog by Mark Sandford, Senior Researcher at the House of Commons on the accountability of metro mayors.
Publications
Green and pleasant: rebuilding rural Britain
This edited collection of essays seeks to explore how the ‘peripheral’ geography of rural and coastal areas shapes the challenges they face and lays the groundwork for a Labour offer to voters living in them.
Devolution to local government in England
This Commons Library briefing paper summarises the main developments regarding the devolution of powers to local government within England since 2014. It covers the devolution deals agreed between the Government and local areas up to January 2023, including the powers to be devolved, the procedures required for devolution to take place, and reactions to the policy from the local government and policy-making worlds.
The effect of devolution on health
This study published in The Lancet journal in October 2022 provides an analysis of the health of Greater Manchester population after devolution.
Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance Issue 27
This edition includes six research papers, six country perspectives on one of those papers, two other commentaries and a policy and practice note. All offer important insights into two central issues concerning the future of local governance - the quality of local democracy and the place of local government in broader national and federal systems.
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee
Dehenna Davison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up gave evidence to the Committee’s inquiry on levelling up funding on the Levelling-Up Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, issues around competitive bidding, metrics and data, and broader topics of how to support local areas and regions, reduce inequalities, and ensure the success of the levelling-up agenda.
Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill
House of Lords 17 January 2023:
Levelling Up Funding Round 2
House of Commons 19 January 2023:
The Minister of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities responded to a question on the Levelling-up Fund Round 2 and outlined Government’s approach to evaluating the bids received.
Levelling Up: Funding Allocation
House of Lords debate on 23 January 2023:
How to design a healthy High Street – Linking Health and Economic Growth
Tuesday 31 January 2023, 10.30am – 12.00pm
The LGA’s improvement team will be hosting a bookable Economic Growth Roundtable which will explore the topic of designing a healthy high street and how health can be linked to economic growth. The roundtable will be hosted virtually with around 30 council officers with a responsibility for economic growth and development.
ADEPT County / devo deals workshop
Friday 3 February, 9.00am - 10.30am
Since the Levelling Up White Paper was published in February 2021, six devolution deals have been announced: York & North Yorkshire and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (August) followed by Cornwall, Norfolk, Suffolk and North East including Durham (December). The free, bookable virtual workshop will hear from each of the six confirmed deals: what went well, not quite so well, and lessons learnt from the experience followed by discussion.
A year on from the levelling up white paper: how much progress has been delivered?
Monday 6 February 2023, 1.00pm - 2.00pm
The Institute for Government is running an expert panel to discuss what the UK's economic challenges mean for the levelling up agenda.
‘Lessons from overseas: assessing England’s devolution performance’
Tuesday 21st February 2023 2.00pm - 3.00pm
All Party Parliamentary Group for Devolution
The next meeting of the APPG for Devolution will consider The Group will examine the relative success of English devolution compared to other countries, benefiting from the insight and experience of an international panel of speakers who bring political and academic knowledge of territorial politics and devolution.
Sharing ideas
Pride(s) in place(s): interdisciplinary perspectives on pride
The Royal Geographical Society has a call for papers that is inviting people from diverse disciplines to explore the multitudes of pride in place. They are looking for papers that might engage with local and civic pride, regional pride, national or supranational pride, queer pride, diasporic pride, black pride, mad pride, Asian pride, pride across the life course, and pride in associational communities such as sports clubs, employment and party politics. The papers will form part of the conference being held later in the year.
Contact the LGA
If you have any thoughts or ideas that you want to share with Jenni, the LGA’s Policy Lead on Devolution Support, regarding this Bulletin or the types of support that the LGA offer, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via email jenni.french@local.gov.uk.
The LGA are always looking for opportunities for authorities who are already devolved, have a deal in place or are starting on that devolution journey to show case their work – especially where this activity will help inform others who may be experiencing similar issues.
Please pass this bulletin on to any individuals or teams who you may think would benefit from it and if you are not already on our mailing list but would like to join, please go to https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/e-bulletins and register your interest.
For wider LGA support, please contact your regional principal adviser.
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