Every area of England will be able to have a ‘London-style’ devolution deal by 2030 as part of the government’s Levelling Up White Paper, which is due to be released by Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove today.
The government said the document will set out a plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all parts of it, as well as setting out a complete ‘system change’ of how government works that will be implemented to level up the country.
At the heart of this new way of making and implementing policy will be 12 national missions, which the government said will be all quantifiable and to be achieved by 2030.
These missions are the policy objectives for levelling up and form the heart of the government’s agenda for the 2020s and will be given status in law in a flagship Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
Devolution plays a major part in the plans, with the government recognising that if it tries to level up the UK alone, it will fail.
They said this is why the whitepaper will detail the largest devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times
The government said they recognise the strong local leadership that mayors like Andy Burnham, Ben Houchen and Andy Street have shown and hope to replicate this success across England.
Fundamental to this ‘devolution revolution’ will be a new model for England with more mayors for those areas that want one.
The first nine areas to be invited to agree new county deals have been announced, with the government seeking to agree further Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) deals, extending devolution across England.
The first nine areas invited to begin negotiations will be Cornwall, Derbyshire and Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull and East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire and Nottingham, and Suffolk.
As well as this, the whitepaper announces negotiations for a new Mayoral Combined Authority deal for York and North Yorkshire, as well as an expanded deal for the North East.
Negotiations for further devolution deals with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands to extend their powers will also take place, with these deals acting as blueprints for other Mayoral Combined Authorities to follow.
Commenting, Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove said:
“The United Kingdom is an unparalleled success story. We have one of the world’s biggest and most dynamic economies. Ours is the world’s most spoken language. We have produced more Nobel Prize winners than any country other than America.
“But not everyone shares equally in the UK’s success. For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.
“Levelling up and this whitepaper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.
“This will not be an easy task, and it won’t happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go.”
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