The English devolution white paper: what does it mean for the Tees Valley?

The English devolution white paper, released in December, has been described as a “devolution revolution” by the Deputy Prime Minister.

The document referenced the Tees Valley numerous times and also set out restructure plans that could impact the five constituent councils - Middlesbrough, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland, Hartlepool, and Darlington. In her remarks, Angela Rayner, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government said there would be “a permanent shift of power away from Whitehall and into the hands of those who know their communities best.”

The executive summary of the white paper describes England as “one of the most centralised countries in the developed world”. The summary continues to argue that mayoral devolution works because regional mayors “have skin in the game and are accountable to their citizens. This white paper initiates the biggest transfer of power out of Westminster to England’s regions this century.”

When it comes to funding local priorities, currently "government funding comes with conditions, reporting requirements, forms to fill in and boxes to tick. Mayors have to slalom between pots of money to deliver the answer they already know is right", according to the white paper.

The paper outlined that “integrated settlements” will “enable strategic authorities to move funding between policy areas. It will lead to better value for money and outcomes for citizens” because different programmes should be working together and not individually. Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) has not been one of the selected strategic authorities for the first round of integrated settlements.

During a sit down interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service last month, Conservative Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen, was positive, having attended the launch of the white paper, alongside regional Labour mayors. He said: “This government is clearly pro-mayor, they are engaging with me in the exact same way that they are the other mayors, the devolution white paper shows that we are going to benefit just as much as anywhere else.”

In the white paper, the Tees Valley is described as one of the “burgeoning clusters” when it comes to “clean energy and green industries”, along with other regional authorities, such as the North East Combined Authority (NECA), which encompasses the seven constituent authorities to the north of the Tees Valley.

When it comes to the geography and scale, the white paper said: “Strategic authorities should be of comparable size to existing institutions. The default assumption is for them to have a combined population of 1.5 million or above, but we accept that in some places, smaller authorities may be necessary.” The existing TVCA has a population of less than half this size.

To gain established mayoral status, which comes with benefits such as access to a multi-departmental, long-term integrated funding settlement, the white paper said: “In the previous 18 months the strategic authority has not been the subject of a Best Value Notice, a MHCLG [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] commissioned independent review, or a statutory inspection or intervention” and that “the strategic authority is not subject to any ongoing (or implementing) recommendations from an externally mandated independent review”

TVCA agreed a response to the recommendations of the Tees Valley Review (an independent review commissioned by the MHCLG’s predecessor) in September 2024 and is awaiting Angela Rayner’s response. The Tees Valley Review was published in January of the same year.

When it comes to transport, other benefits from gaining established mayoral status include “a ‘right to request’ further rail devolution”. This is in addition to a “statutory role in governing, managing, planning, and developing the rail network” and “an option for greater control over local rail stations”, both of which are applicable to mayoral strategic authorities, which is what TVCA has been designated as.

This is of particular interest to the Tees Valley because as part of the near £1bn transport plan for the Tees Valley, submitted last January, and now under review, £5m was put aside for developing “a rail devolution proposal to government to gain more control and meaningful powers over services which run here”.

The white paper outlined how the Tees Valley would be one of the areas to benefit from a place-based “trailblazer” to “design and test how different elements of the Youth Guarantee can be brought together into a coherent offer for young people.” TVCA had previously announced in November 2024 it would receive up to £5m in funding to support youth employment as one of eight “trailblazers” across the country.

As for the local authorities that currently exist, such as Stockton or Middlesbrough, the white paper made remarks that were not specific to Teesside, but for the whole country. Unitary authorities which are deemed to be “smaller or failing” are expected to develop proposals for reorganisation.

“New unitary councils must be the right size to achieve efficiencies, improve capacity and withstand financial shocks. For most areas this will mean creating councils with a population of 500,000 or more, but there may be exceptions to ensure new structures make sense for an area, including for devolution, and decisions will be on a case-by-case basis”, the white paper outlined.

The five constituent, unitary authorities that make up the Tees Valley each have a population between approximately 92,300 (Hartlepool) and 196,600 (Stockton), according to 2021 ONS statistics. If the five unitary authorities combined to make one new unitary authority, the total population would be approximately 680,000, surpassing the new requirement.

When asked about the Tees Valley not being selected for an integrated settlement in the first round, an MHCLG spokesperson said: “Tees Valley Combined Authority do not currently meet all of the criteria which would make them eligible for an Integrated Settlement, but we continue to work closely with them and the relevant local authorities on these matters.” The spokesperson did not clarify in what year TVCA could or would qualify.

The MHCLG also did not directly respond to queries regarding the size of unitary authorities and whether it would be expected for Teesside unitary authorities to join together going forward.

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