The expanding landscape of English devolution

The prospect of deeper and wider devolution across England is exciting indeed and there is largely cross-party and cross-sector consensus that it has the potential to bring huge benefits, not just at a local level but also nationally.

But the implementation of devolution raises interesting and difficult questions, too.

English Devolution is going deeper. Existing Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), soon to be renamed strategic authorities, will see their powers expand, with more money from the central pot and more freedom on how it’s spent.

It’s getting wider, too. As well as progressing ten further strategic authorities committed by the previous Conservative government, Labour has accepted six more onto the Devolution Priority Programme.

Our advice to strategic authorities is to follow a four-step framework:

• Shape the vision.
• Justify the decisions – and tradeoffs.
• Deliver the plan.
• Review progress.

For all there are challenges ahead.

 

How should strategic authorities make decisions to achieve overarching goals? And how should they set those goals in the first place?

 

Getting the geography right is crucial

Where boundary lines are ‘new’ or feel artificial, new strategic authorities have a significant barrier to overcome.

Strategic authorities that have an established identity, and a common housing and labour market will feel the benefit of “strength in numbers”. Greater Manchester, with its clear local identity, is a prime example of this (acknowledging the differences within).

However, some newly defined strategic authorities have less common ground to start from. Take soon-to-be-combined Cheshire West, Cheshire East and Warrington. Residents of Poynton, within Cheshire East, are more likely to identify with Greater Manchester rather than Warrington or Chester. Strategic authorities with less in common could find it harder to shape and refine their common vision because each part has its own characteristics, challenges and priorities. A line on a plan and a consolidated funding pot don’t change that.

How do you knit these places together? 

There is no simple formula to guarantee success. Identifying shared priorities is just the first step, with improvements to transport infrastructure and services, investment in skills initiatives and public health service integration examples of much larger-than-local priorities around which stakeholders can, and have, coalesced.

Questions of “fair shares” geographically in the allocation and distribution of funding will always be present, and mechanisms for dealing with the pressures this brings need to be embedded in governance architecture and decision-making processes. Complex flows of people, goods, services and business investment are not driven by administrative boundaries, and collaboration between the new authorities will be an important part of the devolution story, especially where areas relate to two or more cities and city regions.

What are the barriers to justifying decisions?

Integrated Settlements will offer new flexibility to strategic authorities in how they use their funds. No longer ringfenced by a central government department, decision makers will be grappling with decisions about what to prioritise and where to invest. Politicians in the strategic authorities are well-used to making tough decisions when faced with multiple demands, but the new funding flexibilities raise interesting questions. Will they be faced with choices about funding a new city centre employment development or station versus a skills initiative targeting young people? If doing everything isn’t possible, how might trade-offs be made?

A strong vision and well-defined objectives are essential, backed by a clear sense of direction and the change they want to achieve. These aren’t ‘either/or’ questions but doing everything is not possible and there will be trade-offs to make about how resources are used.

Look at the evidence

Research, empirical data and an understanding of trends are also crucial here.

It does not provide the answer about what to invest in -that’s a matter for the decision-maker. But it does help in weighing up multiple, and sometimes competing, priorities. Hatch works with clients on investment strategies and business cases, developing evidence about the potential economic, social and environmental benefits of an action, programme or project. This evidence is one part of the process of determining which projects become priorities. Ensuring there is a consistent approach to identifying the need for action, and describing and measuring these benefits, are key to being able to compare different proposals.

Where there may be differences between what the data says and political preferences, good evidence will provide a constructive challenge. It enables decision makers to drill down into details and can give valuable insights about what past action has achieved.

There are good examples across devolved England of local control and accountability enabling positive change. Liverpool City Region’s major investment in new Merseyrail trains and the expansion of its network, and Greater Manchester’s decision to bring buses under its control as part of its Bee Network are amongst the most prominent such initiatives. As devolution moves forward, evidence about what has worked should help shape how new powers and resources are applied.

More than just a map exercise

Devolution brings new opportunities but with it real challenges. The success of strategic authorities won’t come from the powers they gain, but from how effectively they use them. That means tackling the difficult questions early on, defining a clear vision and priorities, making the best use of evidence, and working with the grain of local politics. For those tasked with leading the new authorities, the priority should be building strong foundations. Where do your communities naturally align? What are the economic strengths and opportunities for change? And crucially, how will you bring people with you?

Devolution works best when it identifies with a place and is more than administrative lines on a map. Those that get this right will be best placed to make the most of their new freedoms.