Government should press ahead with devolution for England, say MPs

The new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, should press ahead with further devolution in England, says the housing, communities and local government committee in a report published today.

The report calls on the Government to accelerate proposals for how the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will work, criticising the Government’s “unacceptable delay” in bringing forward proposals, given the Government has had over four years to bring forward an alternative to the European Development Funds that will completely end in 2023.

The report calls on devolution to be extended not only to combined authorities but local government more widely, and to both rural and urban areas, and that the case should be examined for devolving greater powers over services including health, housing, planning and education

For devolution to be expanded successfully, the report recommends the government bring forward a framework that emphasises that devolution should be the default option. The report calls on the government to consider following the model for devolved nations, where there is a list of reserved powers and all other powers are available for devolution to combined and local authorities.

To help boost the financial resilience of councils and reduce the reliance on council tax and business rates, the report recommends the Government explore alternative revenue-raising options for local councils. The report recommends the Government commission research into options for allocating income tax or other national tax revenue at the local level, or how a local income tax across a combined authority area could work. It also recommends that the Government look at the potential devolution of a ‘tourism tax’.

Clive Betts, chair of the committee, said: “Across Whitehall, the Government needs to be more positive and proactive in delivering devolution. On this path, the Government should work with local government to produce a devolution framework in which devolution is the default option. Devolution also needs to involve local people. The local public should be consulted on whether devolution should include having a directly elected mayor.”