Practical guide to the English Devolution Whitepaper
The biggest change to local government organisation and governance in 30 years... A wholesale re-working of Government in England with a focus on regions and the local rather than the national... A focus on elected leaders driving strategic change.
All of these phrases and many more have been rolled out in response to the Government’s publication of the English Devolution White Paper, Power and Partnership: Foundations for Growth published in December 2024 (the ‘White Paper’).
Published just before Christmas, and with the Government welcoming expressions of interest by 10 January 2025, local government leaders have had only 16 working days, over the Christmas period, to get to a place where they can submit initial proposals on either local government reorganisation needed to 'unlock devolution', or on proposals for new strategic authorities (the new umbrella term for combined authorities and combined county authorities).
Many areas have moved quickly to signal a desire to be in the Devolution Priority Programme, recognising that early adopters may fare better than those that choose to wait in terms of financial benefits and choices over factors like geography. Others are choosing to see how the initial wave fare before making decisions. Both groups have told us that they would appreciate more information about how the process of creating unitary authorities, and of creating new strategic authorities, will happen in practical terms.
We have created this practical guide which sets out our views on the emerging picture to assist councils making decisions at pace.
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