How much of England has devolution?

There are currently 12 areas with mayoral devolution in England: Greater London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Tees Valley, West of England, York and North Yorkshire, East Midlands, and the North East. 

Mayoral devolution is also due to be extended to a further four places in 2025: Suffolk, Norfolk, Greater Lincolnshire, and Hull and East Yorkshire. In the case of Suffolk and Norfolk, powers will be devolved directly to the county council rather than to a combined authority. In addition, non-mayoral devolution deals are planned to be implemented in 2025 in Lancashire, Devon and Torbay, and Cornwall. Provisional deals have also been agreed in Surrey, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire. All these deals are yet to be implemented and will require the passage of statutory instruments at Westminster and ratification votes by the local councils involved.

Devolution currently covers 48% of England’s population, 54% of its economic output, and 26% of the land area. If all the new deals are implemented as planned in 2025, this will increase to 64%, 67%, and 54% respectively, meaning the majority of England’s population will be covered by a devolution deal.

Which powers are devolved?

The powers devolved vary across the different devolution deals, with the most expansive powers on offer only to places that adopt mayoral leadership. Each devolution deal is negotiated separately between ministers and local leaders, but the government has published a four-level devolution framework with the different sets of powers on offer for each level. ¹¹ Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities. (2023). Technical paper on Level 4 devolution framework. www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-paper-on-level-4-devolution-framework/technical-paper-on-level-4-devolution-framework#devolution-framewo…

Level 1 deals offer only a limited “strategic role in delivering services”. No level 1 deals have yet been concluded. 

Level 2 deals can be concluded with county councils or combined authorities that are not led by a directly elected mayor. They offer control over the adult education budget, LEP functions, and the UK shared prosperity fund.

Level 3 deals offer more expansive powers and require the adoption of a mayor – either as directly-elected leader of a county council, or as chair of a combined authority. In addition to level 2 powers, they offer expanded powers over transport, local roads, urban regeneration and 30-year investment funds that combined authorities can allocate flexibly to support economic growth. Most of the existing MCAs hold the level 3 package of powers, as will the new mayoral deals going live in 2024 and 2025.

Metro mayors can also establish development corporations, with powers over planning and development, and can impose a precept on council tax to fund specific projects. In some cases, where boundaries align, metro mayors have also taken on the role of police and crime commissioner.

Level 4 deals will be on offer to existing level 3 institutions subject to their meeting capacity, governance and institutional culture criteria. They offer extra powers around skills, careers and transport functions as well as a role in local energy planning. They will also offer flexible ‘consolidated pot’ funding in two areas, local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. ¹² Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities. (2023). Technical paper on Level 4 devolution framework. www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-paper-on-level-4-devolution-framework/technical-paper-on-level-4-devolution-framework#devolution-framewo…  The first level 4 deal was published in spring 2024 for the North East mayoral combined authority.

Finally, two ‘trailblazer’ devolution deals, were agreed with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands in March 2023. These deals will devolve further powers over transport, skills, retrofitting, and housing. They also reform and simplify funding, consolidating multiple funding streams into more flexible ‘single settlements’.