The County Councils Network (CCN) has called for the Liz Truss government to go “further and faster” than its predecessor and conclude devolution deals with the first cohort of county areas by the end of this autumn.
It comes as the CCN publishes the second chapter of its Five Point Plan for County and Unitary Councils, which suggests that county authorities and their areas should be at the “heart of a pro-growth agenda”.
The previous government, under PM Boris Johnson, agreed devolution deals for North Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire over the summer. There was now a need to “turbocharge” devolution, the CCN suggested, calling on levelling up secretary Simon Clarke to conclude negotiations with the seven remaining areas by the end of November.
Cllr Martin Hill, the CCN’s devolution spokesperson, said: “County authorities are not short of ambition but the majority of them lack the powers and investment enjoyed by metro mayors in city areas, which is why it is imperative that the government ensures that the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is passed through parliament as soon as possible.”
Hill added: “If we are to see the growth needed to boost productivity and bring down inflation, it is vital that economies in all four corners of the country are firing on all cylinders.
“We urge ministers to go further and faster than before, turbocharging devolution so more of our great counties are able to able to benefit quicker.”
Other key recommendations in the plan include accelerating the transfer of functions from Local Enterprise Partnerships to upper-tier authorities and expanding the scope of powers and funding available under the devolution framework.
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