This was a third reading on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill aims to reshape England’s local governance by creating new forms of regional authority (combined authorities and combined county authorities), extending devolved powers to local areas, and strengthening accountability for mayors and authorities. It also covers planning, housing, transport, and rent terms for business tenancies, with a wide set of reforms to oversight, elections, and local decision-making. In the Lords, peers proposed a broad package of changes—from widening devolved powers to adding public accountability mechanisms and planning/electoral reforms—many of which were debated and several defeated, though some budget and scrutiny provisions were agreed at committee stage. The bill is currently at Lords Report Stage, with further scrutiny and potential amendments continuing.</plainEnglishSummary>
•- A new framework for devolved power: creation of combined authorities, combined county authorities, and the Greater London Authority, with potential devolution to lower-tier authorities via Community Empowerment Plans and expanded scope for culture, tourism, and rural affairs.
•- Stronger accountability and transparency: proposed measures include People’s Question Time for mayors, annual appearances before constituent authorities, scrutiny and audit committees, petitions, published reporting, and public dashboards to track authority activity.
•- Electoral, planning and governance reforms: plans for local elections reforms (including pilot single transferable vote schemes), planning reforms (agents of change, brownfield land prioritisation, and a national rail strategy), and London governance changes, with safeguards around who can change orders and how decisions are made.
•- Local autonomy versus central control: several amendments sought to tighten central powers (requiring council consent for certain orders and extending consents for devolution), while others would expand devolved powers further; debates focused on balance between local empowerment and government oversight.
