General Election 2024 - Devolution

Devolution is an important topic at every election – how much control, funding, and support will local authorities get? All three main parties talk about devolution but in different ways…

The Conservative Party is promising a devolution deal to any part of England which wants one by 2030. This would involve a directly elected leader, and an individualised deal. However, on skills and education they are not offering anything that feels specifically devolved or locally led. In fact a national drive to create 100,000 new apprenticeships in England would very likely have to be centrally driven and we know that the central reforms of apprenticeships to date have resulted in decreasing numbers of young people participating.

The Liberal Democrats are explicitly promising more power for local authorities and devolved administrations – across immigration, Net Zero, and growth. It is possible that they would give local authorities more control over skills policies, a reformed apprenticeship levy, and choice about what a Lifelong Skills Grant could be used for. On the other hand they also plan to establish ‘national colleges’ which would be the centres of expertise for key national sectors such as renewable energy. We’ve been here before and many colleges would argue for increased funding and local planning of what is needed rather than a new label.

Labour is looking to devolve power even further, across several sectors. They would deepen powers currently held by combined authorities, along with widening the number of areas who are granted this devolution. These would be driven by Local Growth Plans aligned to the national industrial strategy. Labour has also, set out more on the future for local government funding. Critically this includes multi year funding settlements - which could really change the game (assuming the settlements are fair and support local areas to get back on their feet) - alongside ending competitive bidding.

Unsurprisingly we’ve been keen to see has been said on skills devolution. It is promising to see Labour specifically commit existing combined authorities having deeper powers over adult education and skills, and employment support. Bringing these together and having the authority to target effective interventions based on local need must be the answer. The devolution of employment support and health could be a significant shift in supporting people back to or into work but this sits at odds with their proposal for a national careers service being placed within Job Centre Plus.

The big question is how the creation of a new Skills England will enhance and enable moves towards greater devolution and not restrict it. Skills England will occupy an important space in creating joint thinking and working across multiple skills bodies, the Industrial Strategy Council, and the DWP, but local voices must have an equal seat at the table for it to fulfil its objectives.

At MH&A we believe in the power of devolution where policy and implementation are locally driven to meet the needs to local populations. We equally recognise that with greater authority must come the right structures in terms of governance and transparency. Commitments to more devolution are welcome but local authorities will require support and capacity to form the structures and ways of working to make them a success. That’s a difficult ask when local authorities are working so hard to just keep afloat in many places. How the government is going to enable, fund or support that preparatory work is key. Governance also needs to be reflective of accountability and it can’t just be regions being accountable to the centre, more balanced and nuanced arrangements will be needed.

Time will needed to allow devolution to embed. In areas already demonstrating the success of devolution e.g. the existing combined authorities, further advances could be made quickly with the right powers and funding. However, in other areas (most of the country), it will take longer. Central government needs to accept and work with this, not panic when nationally set objectives are not met quickly enough and overreach to control.

What is clear from all of the manifestos is that greater devolution will take place over the next five years. This will require new ways of working in central and local government but also with organisations who are used to working at a national level. Decision making and funding streams previously centrally controlled could move quickly to new places, with new faces in charge. What that future looks like for your organisation is worth thinking about now and getting ahead of the game.