Agenda item

Lord Kerslake, President of the LGA, spoke about his work as the Chair of an inquiry on Better Devolution for the Whole UK set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Reform, Decentralisation and Devolution in the UK.

He said that the overarching purpose of the inquiry was to set out a framework for long-lasting and coherent devolution in the UK. He noted that the inquiry would like to hear from local government representatives at their next evidence session on 30 November 2015 and invited Board members to participate. He also asked any Board members who are interested in submitting written evidence to the inquiry’s next session to contact Charlotte Taylor in the LGA Public Affairs team. The inquiry aims to hold another two evidence sessions in December 2015 and January 2016 before launching its findings in March 2016.

Lord Kerslake predicted that it is very unlikely that the inquiry will reach final recommendations that run counter to the core interests of the LGA. He expressed sympathy for the idea that fiscal devolution is required alongside devolution of powers. He noted that the debate at the moment is mainly focussed outside of London, but that further devolution within London is required. He also clarified that the inquiry does not intend to be a constitutional convention, but rather the precursor to one.

Members discussed:

·         The importance of ensuring that the report is perceived as impartial and high-quality in order to gain maximum political traction.

·         The need to take a wide view of powers that could be devolved to local authorities based on an analysis of viable local solutions to long-term problems such as climate change.

·         The value of different places devolving at their own pace by utilising successful models that look likely to suit their specific needs.

·         The need for the inquiry to look at new models of devolution as well as evaluating and recommending existing models.

·         The importance of the inquiry expanding beyond a purely growth-orientated analysis of devolution and looking at other potential benefits such as public service reform.

·         The extent of fiscal devolution that looks likely to strike the best balance between optimising devolution of powers and ensuring equity between areas.

·         The value of underpinning devolution deals with legislation to ensure that it is not easily overturned.

·         The potential risk of central government devolving problematic and high-cost responsibilities that local authorities are not currently well equipped to deal with.

·         The importance of looking at which models of devolution have been most successful in getting buy-in from the Civil Service and central departments.

·         The value of getting support for devolution from the business community.

·         The risk of raising expectations too high on what is likely to be achievable in the near future in terms of agreeing and implementing new devolution deals.