Although devolution is not about ticking boxes, the proposed West Midlands Combined Authority does seem to meet three “essentials of an ambitious deal” that Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, spelt out in his speech to the Local Government Association conference on 2nd July:
“First, unity. One of the things that has, in my view, held back the decentralisation of power is the fragmentation of local government. Too often differences between neighbours – side by side, upper and lower – have distracted from the shared interests that unite an area. These divisions must be overcome.”
“Second, business participation. In a few short years the LEPs have guaranteed a strong voice for business in local leadership. At their best, business leaders have made an amazing contribution to their local areas – bringing employer knowledge of skill requirements, development opportunities and entrepreneurship to complement the civic leadership of local councils. I would not expect to approve any deal that did not have a clear role for the LEP.”
“Third, ambition. The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill is wide in scope. It allows any power, other than powers to legislate, currently held by a minister or public body to be devolved. The Spending Review provides an unmissable opportunity to show my colleagues in central government how the nation benefits, as well as local people, if things are done differently.”
Greg Clark talks about this being a great time for born-again localists. Speaking as a born-first-time localist, I welcome the Launch Statement’s single phrase: “the third sector will also play a significant role” and I ask that we have the chance to unpack what that could mean in practice. I am curious to know how this sentence will be played out: “All communities will benefit from growth, but not necessarily at the same time or in the same way”. As we move to re-balance the economy locally, we must not leave some people behind. So an examination of how we create collaborative ways of delivering public services, in which those benefitting are as much part of the offer to help as the cause for demand, should be a shared tenet for making life better for even more people than we can now.
As to the Bill, it offers a mix and match menu of options for the shape and form of the enhanced combined authorities and their mayoral forms. So the preferred structure of a mayor plus combined authority is actually only one of a variety of forms that could be adopted in the discussions between relevant councils and central government. Politically, an expectation may be on the first wave to adopt the Government’s preferred model, but there may be scope for other permutations under this Bill. The Bill says much about the combined authorities adopting more local government functions, together with those other bodies that operate at a local or regional level, but the radical rhetoric that accompanies the Bill is not reflected in explicit provisions that actually show Government departments giving up their functions and passing them through to local government. It could be strengthened therefore by an explicit assumption in favour of the “transfer of functions”.
Finally, what’s in a name? There are a few rumbles that “Greater Birmingham” would be a better name than “West Midlands”. Given the reach of the diamond, I’d like to suggest “the Central England Combined Authority”. More people have heard of “England” than “Birmingham”! Discuss.
Contact Mark Cook
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