26.05.15
DCLG to hire director general for devolution
The Department for Communities and Local Government is searching for a new director general to take charge of ‘decentralisation and local growth’.
The newly created job, which comes with a salary of up to £130,000 per year, will work with the Treasury and BIS in “leading and driving forward the decentralisation and local growth agenda”.
The job description for the role states: “Devolving powers to cities within England to boost local growth is a key priority for the new government. The government is committed to devolving far-reaching powers over economic development, transport and social care to large cities which choose to have elected mayors, and the chancellor of the exchequer and the prime-minister have confirmed their commitment to the development of a Northern Powerhouse.
“DCLG is the lead department for developing and implementing the new framework for decentralisation and local growth, working closely with other departments, and with cities, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and local authorities. In the light of the new government’s priorities, we are creating a new role to focus on this at Director General level, to support our Secretary of State in driving ambitious change.”
As director general the individual in the role will also sit on the DCLG executive team and department board alongside the permanent secretary and ministers.
George Osborne has already announced that he plans to include a cities devolution bill in the Queen’s Speech to legislate for devolving more power over transport, economic development and social care to local areas. He also stated that counties are likely to get different deals to cities and that any powers must come with a directly-elected mayor.
(Picture by: Clive Gee / PA)
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