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SLCC has welcomed the publication of the English Devolution White Paper – Power and Partnership: Foundations for Growth, which was presented to Parliament on Monday 16 December 2024.

This White Paper is designed to embed devolution into the country’s constitution. It will, in the government’s own words, achieve ‘growth, more joined-up delivery of public services, and politics being done with communities, not to them.’

Commenting on the White Paper, SLCC Chair, Adam Keppel-Green FSLCC said: ‘We welcome these proposals and their intent, but the White Paper lacks detail on how this will empower ultra-local communities, and it is vital that its message is carried through to the most local level.

‘We are promised a rewired relationship between local councils and their principal councils. This is really needed. Town and parish councils are the first tier of local government and can empower communities from within, with accessible political leadership and dedicated community-based staff. Our message is that devolution cannot stop with Strategic Authorities, it must reach down to the ultra-local level.’

SLCC will be consulting with its partners in the sector and responding to government. Amongst the issues SLCC will want to highlight are:

• That there are no proposals to require ‘Strategic Authorities’ to further devolve – even though that could improve their strategic focus and remove organisational constraints to the delivery of bespoke, local services.
• The elimination of discretionary funding pots, though removing uncertainty for principal councils, does nothing for our sector, if it is replaced by an integrated financial settlement that doesn’t reach town and parish councils.
• If planning becomes top-down at the regional level – it risks undermining neighbourhood planning.
• The role of local councils in making byelaws and the need to have enforcement mechanisms for these shouldn’t be overlooked.
• The potential for powers being devolved to the most local level on issues such as creating public rights of way, public space protection orders and tree preservation orders.
• More detail is needed on how ‘ultra-local communities’ will be engaged. There are generalities about parish and town councils, but no commitments to structural changes to devolve specific responsibilities – or to mechanisms to empower local communities in urban settings that aren’t currently parished.

The White Paper’s outline proposals for changes in the Standards regime are welcome. Proposals for reform of local council audit need to be proportionate and well founded. There is a risk of introducing additional bureaucracy with ‘local accountability’ to Strategic Authorities. SLCC is looking forward to detailed consultation on both sets of proposals in due course.

The government’s commitment to workforce development is welcome and should include the local council sector, which faces its own recruitment and retention challenges.

The White Paper promises a more unified approach to English Devolution, which will bring a managed redistribution of governance from Whitehall to the English regions, but it mustn’t stop there. There remain significant opportunities to rebalance local government in England and to reinvigorate the first tier of community representation to strengthen, ‘expectations on engagement and community voice’.

You will find more information about the English Devolution White Paper here and here.