English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

An amendment to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill would insert a new clause after Clause 68 requiring English licensing authorities to collect and publish annual data on suspensions of out-of-area licences. It would require reporting on numbers of driver, vehicle and private hire operator licences suspended, suspensions extended, terminated, ceased to have effect without extension, and licences reinstated. The aim is to enhance transparency about cross-authority licence actions.

The amendments require the Secretary of State to confirm consultation with other government departments likely to be affected by any order, with the outcome published and laid before Parliament. They also add a new five-year review of the Act, to be published and laid before Parliament, assessing whether its objectives have been met or should be updated, and mandating consultation with specified bodies and a call for other submissions.

The amendments tighten how statutory trust discharge orders are handled, requiring the Secretary of State to set regulations and mandating publicity for any amendments to applications. They also restrict amendments to applications unless the order allows them and the applicant is notified under a new publicity regime, and they add a new condition excluding certain open-space disposals to other local authorities from triggering discharge orders. Additionally, a new clause protects open-space transfers to other authorities (including National Park authorities) from abrogating public trusts, and states such orders cannot be revoked or amended by further orders.

The second marshalled list for Report publishes a wide set of amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, introducing new London governance and accountability provisions, regional collaboration measures, and expanded duties for strategic authorities on planning, health and the environment. It also creates new oversight bodies and processes (such as People’s Question Time, annual mayoral appearances, Corporation Sole Chief Fire Officer, and local public accounts committees) and makes numerous changes to licensing, parking, planning and local elections. Overall, the amendments broadly extend devolved powers, broaden governance mechanisms, and strengthen scrutiny across England, with particular emphasis on London and regional cooperation.

The amendments add tighter safeguards and transparency around statutory trusts and related land/asset decisions, requiring the Secretary of State to consider compensation for affected communities, publish full applications and reasoning, and ensure all evidence is considered. They also strengthen public notice and consultation (longer notices, email alerts, wider publicity), impose stricter controls on reapplications, and require regular annual reporting on the effectiveness of community empowerment measures in England.

This is a Lords’ amendments marshalled list for the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, outlining a large package of proposed changes. It would broaden strategic authorities’ powers (adding culture, heritage and rural affairs), enable devolution to lower-level authorities via Community Empowerment Plans, create new scrutiny and audit frameworks for mayoral and other combined authorities, and introduce several governance, transparency and London/local-government-specific measures, including licensing, elections and parish governance reforms.

This is the Lords’ running list of amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill as of 19 March 2026. The changes broadly expand the bill’s devolution framework (adding tourism, culture and heritage areas, and devolving powers to local authorities) while introducing new scrutiny, audit, and accountability requirements for mayoral and non‑mayoral authorities, including oversight committees and petitions. It also contains a range of London‑specific provisions and other miscellaneous reforms (parish governance, parking, elections, health duties, and related drafting amendments).

The amendments broaden the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill by adding tourism, culture and rural affairs as areas of competence for strategic authorities, and by creating a framework to devolve powers to lower-tier local authorities with Community Empowerment Plans. They introduce a comprehensive new scrutiny regime for all mayoral and non‑mayoral CCAs, including overview and scrutiny committees, audit committees, petitions and penalties for non-attendance, plus accountability measures such as People’s Question Time and annual appearances before constituent authorities. The package also includes numerous consequential governance reforms affecting schedules, London licensing, and related local-government mechanisms.

The memo explains government amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, detailing additional and extended delegated powers and the parliamentary procedures that would apply. It covers new guidance and regulatory powers for Mayoral CCAs and CAs scrutiny arrangements (including civil penalties), pavement parking powers for English LTAs, grant rules for London joint committees, and related provisions on lane rentals, taxi/PHV suspensions, appeals, enforcement, and data reporting, including preparatory phases and transitional arrangements. It also sets out the justification and appropriate parliamentary scrutiny (guidance with no procedure, or affirmative/negative procedures) for these powers.