Autumn Statement brings significant deepening of English devolution

Beyond the conflicting headlines on tax cuts, tax take and who benefits, the Autumn Statement confirmed big changes in England’s devolution landscape. This includes expanding devolution in county and rural areas and publication of a Memorandum of Understanding on Single Settlement deals for Greater Manchester and the West Midlands which gives control over spending, including transport, similar to the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

The Chancellor announced new level 3 mayoral devolution deals in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Riding, and expansion of level 2 devolution agreements, that is deals without an elected mayor, to more eligible councils.

New level 2 non-mayoral deals will be open to county, unitary or combined county authorities and offer new powers over economic development, transport and housing along with devolution of the adult education budget. It is thought that Cornwall, Lancashire, Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Surrey and Warwickshire are interested in taking up level 2 deals.

The Chancellor also confirmed a new framework for level 4 deals which will allow combined authorities with elected mayors to apply for devolved powers “as a stepping stone” to the so-called trailblazer deals in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.

But signalling a potentially historic shift of power and influence away from Whitehall, the Chancellor confirmed the go ahead of Single Settlement deals for the West Midlands and Greater Manchester. These provide a single pot of funding, leaving local leaders to decide how best to use the money and giving control over spending on areas including transport, skills and housing.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester said, “This Autumn Statement brings a significant deepening of devolution in Greater Manchester with the publication of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Treasury on how our new Single Settlement will work. This moves our city-region towards a Welsh-style or Scottish-style funding arrangement with Whitehall. It will give us much greater control of our budget at the next Spending Review and help us get better outcomes for our residents and businesses.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands said, “The Chancellor's decision to empower the West Midlands with a single funding settlement heralds a pivotal moment for our region. It will end the need for competitive bidding into Government to fund our transport, housing, skills, and investment projects and put us on par with Government departments and devolved parts of the UK.”