Recommendation 1

HM Government Acknowledged

Since the Committee’s last report in 2016, some progress towards decentralisation has recently been made. Over 40% of the English population now live in areas with directly elected city region mayors, including 63% in the North of England. Since the Select Committee’s inquiry took place, the Government has published its Levelling Up White Paper on 2 February 2022. This sets out that Levelling Up requires: 1. Boosting productivity, pay and living standards by growing the private sector, especially in places where they are lagging; 2. Spreading opportunities and improving public services, especially in those places where they are weakest; 3. Restoring a sense of community, local pride and belonging, especially in those places where they are slipping; and 4. Empowering local leaders and communities, especially in those places lacking local agency. Devolution is critical not just to empowering local leaders and communities but to delivering all of these activities. This Government has committed to devolution across England by setting itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution. There is a need to extend, deepen and simplify devolution, building on recent success and empowering greater numbers of local leaders. For the general public, this will mean greater control and clearer accountability over who is responsible for what and more decisions that shape their area being taken closer to home. Devolution will be extended by: • Inviting Cornwall; Derby and Derbyshire; Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Durham; Hull and East Yorkshire; Leicestershire; Norfolk; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; and Suffolk to start formal negotiations to agree new county deals, with the aim of agreeing a number of these deals by Autumn 2022; • Taking forward negotiations to agree a mayoral combined authority deal with York and