Kirsty Weakley’s Post

The arguments for devolution are intuitive: 👉 Complex and diverse nation unsuited to one-size-fits-all public services 👉 Growing geographical inequalities 👉 A democratic deficit Decentralisation offers the opportunity to grow the economy, improve our public services and empower our nation. Yet tight budgets and spiralling demand for services such as adult and children's social care and housing mean many local authorities are at breaking point. ln addition to financial precarity, a complicated patchwork of local government levels hampers decision-making and blurs accountability, and local capacity and capability remains an issue. Join us, and two eminent former local government Ministers, online next Tuesday to discuss these barriers to devolution and how we should address them to realise the potential of the agenda. To sign up ✍ https://bit.ly/4bhxu5i

The Devolution Bill represents the greatest constitutional change for a generation, moving power out of Westminster and back to local areas. Devolution will be the new default setting, meaning places will be granted powers without the need to negotiate agreements where they meet the governance conditions. Local leaders will be able to formally request additional powers aand the Government will be required to either devolve them or gove reasons for not doing so. Devolved areas now account for almost half of England's population and more than half its economic output. However, the inconsistent, deal based and patchwork approach has left too many levers for growth in the hands of central government, and too many institutions with different powers and governance arrangements. England is one of the most centralised economies in the world and has some of the highest levels of geographic inequality. These two things are linked. Westminster does not have the local knowledge, capacity and flexibility needed to take advantage of every opportunity available in every area.

Ahead of tomorrow's York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority mayoral election, a few key points on what devolution means for our region: - Devolution sees the government hand over decision-making powers to local political leaders and provide millions of pounds in funding to shape major policies and projects on a regional level - A 30-year devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire, with an investment fund of over £500 million, was announced in August 2022 - North Yorkshire Council launched on 1 April 2023, replacing the previous two-tier system  - The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was launched on 1 February 2024  - The new mayor will lead the Combined Authority, working with local leaders to bring more money into our region. We look forward to working with the mayor and the Combined Authority to drive the hospitality sector forward and overcoming the challenges the industry is facing. #Devolution #MayoralElection #YorkAndNorthYorkshire

The UK government is pushing hard for a new wave of devolution, and seems earnest in its aim to grant local authorities more control over a range of issues. This includes transport, skills, housing, planning, and employment support. There do seem to be some inconsistencies in the government's approach. The emphasis on local decision-making sits oddly with plans for mandatory housing targets and new regulations that could override local objections. This creates a sense of "cognitive dissonance" - promoting devolution while also exerting central control. To be clear - central override may be important in a policy area like this. But we haven't really tried to create local contextual incentives for communities to say 'yes' to development, have we? Another area for concern - and something to look out for in the coming weeks - is the lack of a clear plan to financially support local authorities. Without proper funding, many of the government's devolution goals may remain unfulfilled. Local government finances are already under strain, and additional responsibilities without adequate resources could hinder progress. We recently renewed our calls for a next-generation devolution programme as one of the key ways to achieve everything else that the new Government wants to deliver. Let's see if the King's Speech, and the recent moves on devolution, make some progress toward that goal. https://lnkd.in/ddYDGpmt

It's been a month since the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Raynor, wrote to council leaders inviting #devolution proposals that work for communities and localities. Having successfully led communication and public affairs for the Future Dorset reform, I know how to present a compelling case, perfectly ticking the government's policy boxes whilst combining aspiration with achievability. You have just six weeks left to submit your case for participating in the new government's first set of devolution settlements. How are plans progressing in your area? Can I help? #localgov #publicsectorreform #caseforchange

It's election day! I wrote a blog on how the two main parties are tackling place. If investment in place is important to you it's worth a read. https://lnkd.in/edwTdexD

This is a cracking report. English devolution is so complex & extension might be daunting, but this report is a proper “hot knife through butter.” Combined authority friends, and all who work with government, pop on the kettle and have a read:

Yesterday the government confirmed it was proceeding with several of the devolution deals concluded under the last administration including the creation of new mayors in Hull & East Yorkshire and in Greater Lincolnshire. Today Akash Paun and I outline proposals in a new Institute for Government report how to extend devolution to 100% of England by the end of the parliament. Despite the roll out of devolution to 12 English regions, 50% of the population lack a devo deal including big urban areas like Stoke, Southampton and Leicester. With the government promising a 'devolution revolution', ministers face tough decisions about how to fill in the English devo map. In July, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner gave local leaders in 'devolution deserts' until the end of September to come forward with proposals on how they would work with neighbours to take on new powers. Ministers will soon need make the final call on the shape of the next wave of devolution deals. In our report we lay out some of the factors that need to be taken into consideration when evaluating what makes for a good deal - final decisions should take into account scale, economic geography, local political commitment, ease of implementation, other public sector boundaries, and historic patterns of local and regional identity. We then apply this to the remaining 'devolution deserts' in England to weigh up the options. In most areas there is no single option that ticks all boxes. Ministers have to weigh up the trade-offs in the devo deserts and decide between smaller & simpler deals - often on historic county boundaries - or larger, complex & potentially transformational deals at a regional scale. We summarise these alternative approaches as ‘Option 1’ and ‘Option 2’ – although this isn't a binary choice. Ministerial preferences for different factors in different areas could see a mix of smaller and larger deals in the final map. To read the full report and the detailed analysis of devolution in all regions of England go to https://lnkd.in/egCM_hYy

Is the 'devolution revolution' really coming? "This is not quite the revolution that the local government system needs. This is devolution by increments, and devolution as a narrowly-defined project. It leaves the fundamental structure of governance largely unchanged. And by focusing tightly on the creation of a regional (well, quasi-regional) layer, it misses the opportunity for what I have been calling whole system devolution, where regional, local constituent authorities, and hyper-local institutions are all aligned behind a shared vision and a fully decentralised array of powers to deliver on it.“ Latest from me in politics .co. uk! https://lnkd.in/eJiF8HVg