Third Report - Governing England

It is clear from our evidence that the current funding structures for local government and combined authorities reflects the instinct in Whitehall to maintain control of the levers of power and the purse strings. It is beyond the scope of … Read more It is clear from our evidence that the current funding structures for local government and combined authorities reflects the instinct in Whitehall to maintain control of the levers of power and the purse strings. It is beyond the scope of this inquiry to make detailed recommendations on reforms to the funding structures for local government and combined authorities, however, it is clear to us that reforms are needed. In response to this report, the Government should make a clear commitment to put an end to the ubiquitous system of bidding for pots of money that appear to us to be wasteful of resources that could be deployed more effectively at all levels. In addition, the Government should provide the Committee with the information that the Secretary of State committed to provide to us in March of this year. (Paragraph 47) Governing England 43 Show less

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The Committee also notes the difficulties inherent in UK Ministers also being Ministers for England when discharging their duties. It is entirely conceivable that situations may arise where the interests of England and of the UK will be divergent, and … Read more The Committee also notes the difficulties inherent in UK Ministers also being Ministers for England when discharging their duties. It is entirely conceivable that situations may arise where the interests of England and of the UK will be divergent, and it is not clear to us in such a situation how a Minister would manage this conflict of interests. This situation is not acceptable and places an undue conflict and burden on Ministers in such a situation. The Government should set out its policy for how a Minister should manage a conflict of interests between their role as a UK Minister and a Minister for England. This should be included in the updated version of the Cabinet Manual and supplied in draft to us in response to this report. Show less

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The question of England’s place in the Union cannot continue to be ignored. We recommend that the Government bring forward proposals for how the distinct interests of England can be represented effectively both within the legislative process and within Government … Read more The question of England’s place in the Union cannot continue to be ignored. We recommend that the Government bring forward proposals for how the distinct interests of England can be represented effectively both within the legislative process and within Government and Civil Service structures. (Paragraph 78) Reforming the Governance of England Show less

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The Government should be commended for its willingness to openly identify many of the issues that we have also found with the current governance arrangements for England through the course of our inquiry. The publication of the White Paper Governing … Read more The Government should be commended for its willingness to openly identify many of the issues that we have also found with the current governance arrangements for England through the course of our inquiry. The publication of the White Paper Governing England 45 has undoubtedly helped push the more fundamental questions of the governance arrangements of England and England’s place in the Union up the political agenda. Show less

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The Government should bring forward, and opposition parties should support, a Bill to establish a cross-party Commission on the governance of England. This Commission should be funded through and responsible to Parliament. The remit of the Commission should be to … Read more The Government should bring forward, and opposition parties should support, a Bill to establish a cross-party Commission on the governance of England. This Commission should be funded through and responsible to Parliament. The remit of the Commission should be to draw up proposals for reforms to the governance arrangements for England and for addressing the questions of England’s place in the Union. The Commission should also draft legislation to implement these proposals, to be presented to both Houses for approval. It is imperative that this Commission has the support of all major parties, regardless of future General Election results, as given the significance of these reforms is it likely that the Commission may undertake its work over the course of one or more Parliaments. The Government should take the steps to begin the establishment of such a Commission before the end of this Parliament. (Paragraph 108) 46 Governing England Show less

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The Committee has significant concerns about current governance arrangements for England. The evidence we received suggests that even those working within the different parts of local government are not always clear on how the system works, where decisions are made, where accountability lies, and consequently how polices and services can …

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The evidence is clear both practically and democratically that the overly centralised arrangements of government in England are problematic. We were convinced by the evidence presented to us that the current balance of decisions is weighted too much to the centre and that this leads to suboptimal decision-making and policies, …

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It is widely recognised that there is considerable geographical inequity within the governance arrangements of England. This is the area that the Government have clearly identified and prioritised in producing the Levelling Up White Paper. We note, however, the concerns raised in our evidence that until now the Government’s approach …

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Successive Governments, far from putting in place careful reforms to nurture and develop decentralised and durable governance structures for England, have adopted a piecemeal and uncoordinated approach. This is simply not good enough.

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The long-term viability of governance arrangements in England is a significant and pressing problem that has been neglected by successive governments for too long. It is clear that those in local government want a system that enables them to deliver for people and businesses in their area. However, the reality …

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There is an urgent and pressing need for significant reform of the governance arrangements of England, so that they not only work effectively, but can be seen to work effectively, in order to strengthen and restore the public trust in the functioning of our democracy at all levels. (Paragraph 62) …

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As a consequence of the establishment and subsequent development of devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, there is now a legitimate degree of uncertainty about how England fits into the UK ‘s constitutional arrangements. This is in many ways an odd problem as in practice nothing has changed …

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The introduction of the English Votes for English Laws procedure was a recognition of the need to address this problematic situation. As such its removal could be seen as a step backwards. However, as our evidence indicates, it was an ineffectual measure that might not have been sufficient had a …

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While it may not seem immediately pressing, the question of England’s place in the Union is a significant one that cannot be left unanswered indefinitely. While the Secretary of State’s approach of ignoring the issues underlying the so-called West Lothian question may be sustainable for the duration of the current …

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More broadly, while it is clear that the interests of England and the UK are generally likely to be aligned, this may not always be the case, and it is important that proper consideration is given to the interest both of England as a whole and different regions and areas …

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The task of reforming the governance arrangements for England is not an easy one. There are strong historical, cultural, geographic and economic reasons to pursing a range of different approaches. We have identified three main reasons why meaningful and sustained reform has not occurred over the last 50 years.

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If any reform is to take place it must address all of these issues, otherwise it is likely only to be another short term and partial measure. For a reform of the governance systems to successfully be implemented and invested in, a vision of where England will end up needs …

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There are no easy answers to the question as to what model(s) of reform to the governance arrangements for England would be successful or would satisfactorily address all the issues that we touched on during our inquiry, given the range of views. While there is unanimous agreement on this Committee …

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