‘The English devolution white paper is welcome, but mayors need tax powers too’

Billed by the deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner as kickstarting a ‘devolution revolution’, the government’s new English Devolution White Paper today marks a positive step in the shifting of powers from Whitehall to Town Halls.

This is much needed. Despite some progress on devolution over the past decade, England remains one of the most centralised countries in the developed world. This continues to hold our places back and feeds into deep and persistent inequalities in health, wealth, power, and opportunity across the country.

These inequalities manifest in a number of ways, and have real life negative impacts for people across the country. When it comes to health, for example, there is a four-year gap in healthy life expectancy between the north of England and the South East.

In terms of wealth and opportunity, England is one of the most regionally unequal country in the OECD by incomes with incomes in places like Nottingham and Leicester one fifth of the level of places like Kensington and Chelsea.

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Meanwhile, for too long local places have been held back from exercising power; largely owing to the impact of austerity, spending by the state has actually been centralised in recent years with locally controlled public spending having fallen by an average of around £1,300 per person in real terms since 2009/10.

In a country where deep inequalities dictate your life expectancy, earning potential, and access to power based on where you live, devolution is a promise that must be delivered.

Taking powers and resources out of Whitehall and placing them in the hands of local leaders who know their areas best is vital for remaking our public services so that they work for people locally, for unlocking opportunity and potential to make sure that all places can contribute to economic growth and drive national prosperity, and in bringing power closer to communities to give them a voice and help restore trust in politics. The government has recognised this in the White Paper.

Perhaps the most significant element in the document is the advent of a transparent, flexible devolution framework. This marks an important shift in English regional devolution and is something that IPPR North has long  called for.  Replacing backroom negotiations and deal making with devolution by default and a ladder that helps to lift areas up offers a solid foundation upon which our regions can be truly empowered.

READ MORE: ‘The English devolution white paper must be step one in reversing centralisation’

The White Paper is clear that today’s offer is a floor, not a ceiling and provides ways for Mayors to ratchet it up. So, we should expect more from this Government than on single devolution wave, but a continued raising of the bar.

The White Paper also sets out  how the government intends to extend devolution across England in places not currently benefitting from it and how it will draw on a broad range of criteria for doing so, from economic geography, to identity, scale, and public service alignment. This is the right  approach.

Getting devolution right means focussing on the things that will deliver outcomes that people can feel. This is essential if devolution is to tackling existing inequalities. To do so, local leaders must have the full box of tools needed to deliver for their areas.

New powers for mayors over things like strategic planning and transport infrastructure are positive. So too is the commitment to work towards aligning public service boundaries with devolution. This would enable mayors to take on further strategic powers in their areas and improve delivery and results.

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The commitment to reset the relationship with local government and provide stability and autonomy with multi-year spending settlements is another very positive step that will help with this.

Going forwards, local powers should also include fiscal levers. When looking internationally, we can see how fiscal devolution – local abilities to raise revenues and spend – are used to invest in the foundations of good growth and better living standards that are vital to improving equality, like transport systems in Dijon in France, culture in Bilbao in Spain, or industrial resurgence in Leipzig in Germany.

Here, we will continue making the case for quick wins – like raising revenue from tourism – that can help Mayors invest in their economies.

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To make sure that devolution works for all, community empowerment and citizen voice must also be a feature of devolution as we look ahead. The White Paper sets out plans for reorganisation of local government by creating new unitary authorities.

This is likely to be a sensible step in improving cross-place service delivery and in paving the way for more devolution deals, there is however a danger that getting rid of district councils will be perceived as shifting power further away from local communities.

To guard against this, there is a need to ensure that the voices of local people can be heard and local communities empowered. The renewed commitment in the White Paper to strengthening communities with greater powers such as a new community ‘right to buy’ is welcome. The government might also consider how it can expand and power up hyperlocal governance across the country to compliment devolution.

Delivering meaningful and lasting devolution could define this government’s legacy. It is a key lever in fixing England’s overcentralised and unequal politics and economy. Today’s White Paper provides a solid foundation upon which future progress can be built over the coming months and years as devolution is both widened and deepened across England.

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