Autumn Budget: Devolution vs delegation

Andy Burnham said Greater Manchester should be ‘dead proud’ of what it has achieved in recent years. Credit: PNW

There were some eye-catching announcements in this week’s Budget, not least the Chancellor’s ‘bold’ opening statement that the measures add up to a £40bn tax rise. The usual political commentary ensues. Conservatives label it a Budget for ‘high tax and low growth’, whilst Labour says they’re ‘fixing the foundations’ of public services. You pay your money and take your choice.

But threaded throughout the Budget is an interesting question about growth. There were some big numbers for key sectors such as aerospace, automotive and life sciences, and some capital investment in infrastructure like roads and trains, but how is all this going to be delivered?

Regional Mayors and Combined Authorities are set to play a large part, and the relationship between these local leaders and the new Government is fascinating. Clearly Mayors will welcome new funding, but how much influence will they really have to achieve their local priorities?

From next year, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will get a flexible, single funding settlement, without the same ring-fencing and ‘assurance’ rigmarole that other Combined Authorities have. That’s long been expected, and the Chancellor confirmed it in her Budget statement.

This is big news. It gives city regions much more opportunity to choose key local ambitions or projects. Currently, of the English devolved authorities, only London has that level of clout, so this change is a big deal for those two Labour City Mayors.

Elsewhere though, plans seem highly prescriptive. Perhaps we’re looking at a lot of ‘delegation’ as opposed to real local decision making? ‘Here is some money, and here is what you need to spend it on…’

There’s a world of difference between Mayors with the funding to deliver pre-designated projects in their area, decided and passed down from Government for delivery at Combined Authority level, versus the flexible local decision making that allows for local freedom and makes devolution such a huge opportunity.

Whilst Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will get further flexibility, other announcements set out clear national expectations e.g. £500m for potholes, £650m for a specific set of transport projects. There is no word yet on the expected devolved pots of flexible and locally allocated transport funding.

Mayors are getting some money, but most of them are being told very specifically what they must do with it. Even in Local Growth Plans, set up to allow local areas to set out their economic priorities, Mayors have been limited to choosing from only the sectors that have been approved by Government. No local freedom to choose something unique.

A national skills strategy will be produced, and presumably regional Mayors with devolved powers over the Adult Skills Budget will have to comply with it. A National Industrial Strategy will dictate the priorities to those delivering Local Growth Plans in Combined Authorities. It might be logical to think that local plans should hang off of a clear national strategy, to keep everyone pulling in the right direction. But how much will that equate to real devolution, or will it make regional authorities just a ‘delivery-arm’ of central Government, doing as they’re told? Given that all but one (Ben Houchen in Tees Valley) of those Mayors are from the Labour Party, will their freedom be curbed by centralised, party control?

These relationships are new and developing, and even some of the long-established Combined Authorities have new leadership after May’s elections, such as in the West Midlands. Much seems to rest on the personalities and personal ‘clout’ that individual Mayors are able to wield in order to influence Government.

Some, like Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham, have a reputation for getting their way. Burnham has always been able to be a vocal advocate for his region and often a critic of Government when Conservatives were sat in Whitehall. At the recent Place RESI event, he confirmed that he would continue to strike that same independent tone, putting place before party. But will his peers, particularly those new Mayors elected just a few months ago? Only time will tell.

What’s very clear though – be it through devolution or delegation – is that Combined Authorities and regional Mayors are set to be a huge part of the local delivery of Government’s key projects and priorities, across transport, infrastructure, growth and much more. It’s an ever-changing and expanding model, with big regional variances and nuances, and more new authorities coming forward every year.

Here at Cavendish, we’re experts in understanding how these authorities work and how they impact on the local landscape. We’d love to talk to you about how you can best make your voice heard and shape what happens next. Get in touch.