Fourth Report - Progress on devolution in England

The government acknowledges the progress made and commits to extending, deepening, and simplifying devolution, aiming for a deal in every part of England by 2030, listing specific areas invited for negotiations.

The government outlines the purpose of devolution as critical to levelling up and strengthening local leadership, as detailed in the Levelling Up White Paper. It also specifies criteria for appropriate devolution deal geographies, including a minimum population of 500,000.

The government established a new Levelling Up Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Secretary of State, to drive devolution. However, it does not intend to adopt the recommendation for local authorities to report on their interactions with government departments, referencing existing engagement groups instead of a new council.

The government has committed to extensive public engagement and informal consultation on its White Paper proposals and has published a devolution framework to clarify its offer. A new body will also be established to enhance data, transparency, and evidence for place-based leadership.

The government has introduced a devolution framework in the White Paper and committed to working with local government and civil society on community empowerment. It will launch a review of neighbourhood governance to support community leadership and explore ways to simplify the establishment of parish councils.

The government's devolution framework offers a wide range of powers to all existing and future devolution deal areas, explicitly stating it is not based on Greater Manchester as a yardstick. It allows areas to progress at their own pace, with future trailblazer deals for West Midlands and Greater Manchester providing a blueprint for others.

The government rejects the recommendation to allow councils to retain 75% of business rates from 2022, stating that the system will remain unchanged for 2022/23. It commits to consulting on potential future funding reform but outlines past and existing measures for local authority finance.

The government commits to exploring further flexibilities for combined authorities to raise funding through the business rates system and will publish a policy consultation on an Online Sales Tax shortly. It also outlines plans to allow councils to charge double council tax on homes left empty for over a year.

The government rejects commissioning research into allocating national tax revenue or introducing a local income tax, stating it has no plans to hypothecate taxes. Regarding land value capture, it outlines existing mechanisms and plans for a new Infrastructure Levy, rather than permitting additional new measures.

The government's response is an exact repetition of the recommendation text, providing no substantive reply to the committee's proposals regarding the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

The government's response is an exact repetition of the recommendation text, providing no substantive reply to the committee's proposal for block grants and an end to ringfencing and competitive bidding.

The government's response discusses the devolution of the adult education budget and the Department for Education's functions, completely failing to address the original recommendation regarding health devolution and a London Health Commissioner.

The government's response discusses housing and planning powers, Mayoral Development Corporations, and streamlining funding, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding the devolution of the adult education budget, FE colleges, or strengthening local authority oversight of schools.

The government's response focuses entirely on transport systems, bus services, Network Rail, and the new Great British Railways, failing to address the recommendation for devolving spatial planning powers, housing powers, development corporations, or strategic infrastructure levies.

The government's response focuses on local authorities' role in net zero, climate action plans, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, and public asset takeovers, completely failing to address the recommendation regarding Transport for London-style oversight for buses, joint working arrangements for transport services, or scrutiny of transport.

The government's response discusses the flexible approach to devolution through County Deals and the role of directly elected leaders or alternative governance models, but it does not address the specific recommendation to consider devolving powers related to energy efficiency, the environment, farming and forestry policies, or the takeover of public assets.

The government accepts the recommendation, outlining its flexible approach to devolution, including 'County Deals' for rural and non-metropolitan areas, and stating that a mayor is not a prerequisite for all new devolution deals.

The government does not commit to commissioning a review of unitary authority structures, instead outlining its incremental approach to local government reorganisation and devolution, where reorganisation remains locally-led and not a requirement for deals.

The government commits to integrating Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) into Level 2 of its devolution framework, enabling their integration into mayoral combined authorities and county deals, and reiterates support for pan-regional partnerships.

The government commits to strengthening the local audit system and enhancing transparency, but explicitly states it has no current plans to change policy regarding the London Assembly's powers, such as receiving a forward plan, call-in powers, or veto rights over mayoral appointments.

The government acknowledges quorum issues within combined authorities and states it will consider how the new accountability framework, detailed in the Levelling Up White Paper, can best address these rules.

The government acknowledges the Ombudsman's concerns and their Triennial Review proposals, stating that the Department is considering these recommendations in partnership with other departments and will respond in due course.

The government accepts the recommendation, committing to establish a new body focused on local government data and transparency, which will develop and publish datasets and tools to assist local leaders in evaluating their work.