The Labour party conference was one of announcements, promises and hints, at what the next 4 years at least, will be like for the UK public. One of the most pertinent announcements, was Angela Rayner’s on the first day of the labour party conference, who pledged for a ‘devolution revolution’ at the conference.[1] This announcement, has been long in the works, on the 16th of July, Rayner, in her first letters to local leaders, will urge regions without devolved powers to “partner with the government to deliver the most ambitious programme of devolution this ever seen”.[2] This is uttered amongst a backdrop of ongoing debates about the economic performance of England’s regions following devolution.
Greater Manchester, often touted as a blueprint for successful devolution, has been one of the UK’s fastest growing areas over the last 20 years, and is ‘forecast to grow by more than the national average in coming years. The UK is reportedly one the most centralised countries in Europe, and the ‘most unequal’ amongst OECD countries. Decentralization, devolution and other aims are often ‘shallow’ involving ‘localized decisions on service provision’ rather than a more in depth ‘transfer of power over policy aims and methods.[3] Therefore, there has been growing pressure on Westminster to shift power into other communities, chiefly with the use of combined authorities and ‘metro mayors’ of large urban areas. This will be delivered through an English Devolution Bill, and large changes are sought to create new combined authorities and empower current ones. The question remains – what are the biggest implications of this devolution project?
Crime and Policing – Greater Manchester as a Case Study
Greater Manchester is often considered the blueprint for English devolution, it is ‘in many ways at the forefront of approaches that would appear to address some of the acknowledged limitations of current national-level social policies’, a lot of the principles echo New Labour’s place-based programmes for tackling social exclusion. Local accountability for crime and police took place following the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2012, which abolished police authorities, and replaced them with directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), which are responsible for setting objectives for their area using a police and crime plan, setting the budget, and by making sure ‘local priorities are joined up’.
All police areas from 2012 to 2016, had a PCC, under city-region devolution, functions of the PCC were taken on by Mayor’s, as was done to Greater Manchester (from 2017) and the West Midlands (2020). This shift of power present is that from a locally elected PCC to a locally elected mayor. Greater Manchester has also shown examples of further powers being used, with indications that further devolution is considered such as with a more devolved youth justice system, options considered to devolve the custody budgets attached to female offenders, young offenders and those with shorter sentences.
The first Police and Crime plan from the Mayor of Greater Manchester was titled – ‘Standing Together’ and was published in February of 2018. This is further subtitled, ‘Our plan for police, community safety, criminal justice services and citizens in Greater Manchester’. This plan put forwards and shows the evidence that of the potential devolution must bring services together, as highlighted by Tony Lloyd’s last plan as PCC. The plan included, with other things, a priority of ‘keeping people safe’ this including introducing ‘problem-solving teams’ to address anti-social behaviour (ASB) and piloting a new commission on preventing hateful extremises and promoting social cohesion.
Taken directly from the plan they note a commitment to ‘Preventing anti-social and criminal behaviour including the most serious offending and terrorism by solving problems, intervening early and rehabilitating offenders to build confidence in criminal justice’. This includes multi-agency work, devolution of education and training in prisons and a service to better coordinate restorative justice. Strong emphasis is placed on the needs and potential vulnerabilities of offenders; the Greater Manchester approach to public service reform therefore seems to be one of multi-agency working, identifying needs and vulnerabilities and recognising how adverse experiences affect crime.
Funding is also a major contributor to the success of devolution projects, as a new tool available to a mayor would be to increase the funding available to the police, until the year 2017/18 most police forces had seen substantial cuts in government grants, which constituted a large portion of their service revenue. The Greater Manchester Mayor, therefore, took full advantage, and raised funds equivalent by £12 per year for a Band D household, which generated an additional £8.8m. Last year, Dr Gareth Young from the UK collaborative centre for housing evidence (CaCHE), explored what was the new ‘trailblazer programme’ of devolution deals for both the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). These deals, and therefore subsequent powers, gave them control over budgets, and eliminated the need to bid for individual pots of money from different government departments, in what WMCA mayor Andy Street penned as the ‘begging bowl culture’.[4]
It will also mean that it will give the GMCA for instance, more flexibility to work with Homes England to identify sites for affordable housing and to work and partner with providers. It means multi-agency working will appear to be more beneficial than ever, as local communities can become more empowered to challenge and direct government decision making. As articulated presciently by the CaCHE, ‘we know that many of the positive attitudes towards MCAs rest on their ability to bring together coordinate local actors, including bridging the gap between a monolithic central government and people in communities’.[5]
It seems evident therefore, that the effect on devolution on areas such as Greater Manchester, has meant that they can respond to direct issues affecting their local area, and therefore places a greater emphasis on prevention. This shows a promising policy model compared to once in which ‘social policies simply respond to the fallout from labour market inequalities. Our urban areas are those that tend to be those of higher economic and social need, and therefore the proposed devolution reforms coming through parliament seem welcomed in to tackle social policymaking effectively and fairly distribute the outcomes. It is an exciting time to be involved in these policy decisions, and we as always, welcome open dialogue on what your thoughts and concerns are on the proposed devolution measures.
The English Devolution White Paper
Since the Labour Party conference, there have been significant developments in developing devolution. The English Devolution White Paper was published last year and revealed a serious intent of this Labour government to devolve more powers to our local areas and communities.
Responding to the Devolution White Paper, Cllr Louise Gittins, Chair of the Local Government Association, said:
"We want every council in England to be able to secure devolution that works for them, their local economies, and their residents. While different areas will have strong views on what that should look like, genuine devolution of powers and resources can play a huge role in promoting inclusive economic growth, creating jobs, and improving public services. In a very centralised country, moving funding and power from Whitehall to local leaders is needed, but it must be done in a way where empowered councils and the communities they serve are at the heart of decision-making”
Case Studies
There are a variety of benefits to devolution, many of which we have an active focus on. The white paper outlines some key elements of devolution in action.
One such case study, was in the Northeast, where the mayor was instrumental in driving forward proactive and practical solutions to support the prevention of child poverty. Last year, therefore, the mayor launched the Child Poverty Reduction Unit. The Combined Authority is delivering a programme of work that spreads across all seven constituent authorities, this amounts to 220 schools which will be supported to mitigate the symptoms and causes of child poverty.
This level of joined up action, and multi-agency partnership, is also aimed at keeping our communities safe. Another case study as highlighted by the white paper, is over in West Yorkshire. The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, has used her powers to improve the safety of women and girls. The powers given to her, including funding flexibility, and strong local partnerships has been able to drive this work forward. From the white paper:
‘The mayor established the first-of-its-kind dedicated unit to tackle violence against women and girls in the region. The team is a pioneering partnership with members from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the Violence Reduction Partnership and West Yorkshire Police to support victims and improve risk assessments and investigations. Delivery has resulted in over 47,500 engagements, resulting in a public health approach to education and prevention that delivered training to over 1,100 people.’[6]
Devolution can, therefore, propose an interesting and novel solution to a country where power is often too heavily centralised; a country where there are significant regional challenges and inequalities.
The Challenges of Reform - Unitarisation
It is wise however for reform to be expertly considered. As we have previously articulated in our written analysis of the council provisional settlement, councils are faced with gigantic challenges, and it is important to state that devolution is not a silver bullet to the funding crisis of local government.
Councils need time, and views need to be considered across the breadth and width of the country. As articulated by Louis Gittins, of the LGA:
“The LGA has always been clear that genuine devolution is key to unlocking the potential of local government and communities. The Government is right to recognise that empowering local areas is key to delivering its agenda, be it boosting inclusive economic growth, building homes, creating opportunities for all and improving public services.
However, we also know that local government reorganisation is an emotive and polarising issue for some. Proposed reforms in the white paper will have a significant impact on every council and community. While our members are – and always have been – open to change, we remain clear that local government reorganisation should be a matter for councils and local areas to decide. The diverging views across the sector underline and reinforce this position.”
These concerns remain, as the government also announced plans for the ‘unitarization’ of England’s two-tier counties, as part of the devolution white paper. Put simply, unitarisation involves the replacement of separate county and district councils with a single tier of ‘unitary’ local authorities. Unitarisation is also known as ‘local government reorganisation’, it is distinct from ‘combined authorities’ that bring together many councils across a larger regional scale.
Normally, local authorities do not need to even give consent to this process, however the secretary of state no longer holds this power. However, in the white paper, it was indicated that it would deliver this reorganisation “through legislation where it becomes necessary to ensure progress.”
The government argues that this reorganisation can ultimately help deliver efficiency savings and create further opportunities for improving our public services. It also argues that accountability is assured, making it easier for residents to understand where responsibility lies. [7]
Regardless, it seems through the introduction of the white paper, devolution remains a very serious priority for the government and will become a key tool for reforming the democratic landscape. Whatever occurs, we will keep informed and offer any insights, most importantly what this means about community safety.
We are aware that many members of local authorities may have some opinions and insights into the proposals for devolution. If you wish to provide these insights, or provide any other comments please feel free to contact:
[1] https://www.thenational.scot/news/24601540.angela-rayner-pledges-devolution-revolution-labour-conference/
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deputy-prime-minister-kickstarts-new-devolution-revolution-to-boost-local-power
[3] https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/121546/1/spdorp02.pdf
[4] https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/begging-bowl-culture-must-end-26020771
[5] https://housingevidence.ac.uk/
[6] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-devolution-white-paper-power-and-partnership-foundations-for-growth/english-devolution-white-paper#:~:text=Housing%20and%20planning&text=This%20policy%20change%20means%20more,planning%20applications%20of%20strategic%20importance.
[7] https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/local-government-unitarisation
