The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed that it is prioritising devolution in the remaining areas of the north.
This comes with the next wave of deals ready to offer greater devolved powers and support for communities in the north, as well as further afield as part of the government’s commitment to delivering full devolution around the country. Four deals are being progressed at the moment, in the following areas:
- Hull and East Yorkshire
- Greater Lincolnshire
- Lancashire
- Devon and Torbay
The deals for Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire will see mayors elected in May 2025, bringing control over transport, housing, skills, and investment.
Alongside this, the two deals in Devon and Torbay and Lancashire will instead see combined county authorities established at the beginning of 2025m with these being given the responsibility for adult education. Whilst these deals will not involve the election of mayors, government ministers are currently encouraging local leaders to take further steps to deeper devolution and move towards mayoral deals.
Whilst the four aforementioned deals are coming towards a conclusion, the government has confirmed that it is minded to progress with Single Local Authority agreements with councils in Cornwall, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire and Surrey. Whilst further statutory tests are yet to be met, these agreements are central to the government’s aims of ensuring that places can see the early benefits of devolution in the short-term future, whilst encouraging them to explore opening up their devolution future.
Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said:
“This is only the first step of our major ambition to drive forward our devolution revolution, and ensure we empower more communities and strengthen the existing powers of our brilliant mayors.”
Alongside the devolution deals, the government is also set to announce this year’s Investment Zone funding for West Yorkshire and the West Midlands. Focusing on life sciences and advanced manufacturing respectively, these are set to bring high-quality jobs and private sector investment as they have done in the number of combined authorities that have already seen an Investment Zone established.
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