UK Government's 'Levelling Up' White Paper - My Concerns
The Paper contains much of merit and some areas of concern e.g. in the area of housing, on which I shalln't comment now. But I do have two very serious worries about it - read on...
My concern is that two crucial things are missing from the Government’s Levelling Up White Paper. These are: sufficient detail on Managing Devolved Authorities and the urgent need for a ‘National Strategic, Integrated Transport Strategy’.
1. Managing Devolved Authorities
One of the cornerstones of the White Paper is “the largest devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times”. This concerns me greatly, because devolving power - a particular passion of Michael Gove - will only solve problems, and not create many more, if there is a clear framework within which that devolution occurs and is managed coherently.
Worryingly, the White Paper says that “By 2030, every part of England that wishes to have a ‘London-style’ devolution deal will have one.” This suggests that each part of England that wants one – the Paper lists Cornwall, Derbyshire & Derby, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Durham, Hull & East Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire & Nottingham, and Suffolk – will have it’s own, bespoke deal.
Such devolution can work well, as it has done, for example, in Manchester. However, if we’ve learned two things from the devolution of powers to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies, they are that:
Differences between the bespoke powers devolved to each devolved authority individually, makes coherence across the UK extremely difficult to achieve;
Devolution doesn’t only encourage local pride and empower devolved authorities to implement more appropriate, timely and effective projects, it can also create significant tension between central and devolved government, making national unity very difficult to achieve and maintain – the ability of Central Government to govern can be seriously undermined. We also see this problem in education and healthcare.
The Paper talks of a ‘Devolution Framework’. It is imperative that this framework is not some nice shiny policy document, but is a legal document that sets out clearly the national level principles, relationships, restraints, and constraints within which devolved powers may be exercised, governed and overseen, and national coherence maintained.
Furthermore, there must be a clear agreement, as part of each devolution of power ‘deal’, on the powers of central government to coordinate and, if necessary, impose, national level crisis management measures whether they be sectoral e.g. in education, or more general in nature. Devolved authorities must not become a stepping stone to some sort of federal model of government.
2. The Urgent Need for ‘National Strategic, Integrated Transport Strategy’.
The White Paper describes a number of positive aims, amongst which are:
3 centres of innovation in Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow.
55 Education Investment Areas
Support to 20 towns and city centres
A £2.6bn Prosperity Fund to support local businesses
A 40% increase in R&D investment outside the Greater Southeast
Etc
However, the impact of these will inevitably be undermined by the lack of a ‘National Strategic, Integrated Transport Strategy’. Such a strategy is an absolute necessity to frame local and regional transport infrastructure. Such a strategy would shape, drive, resource and crucially ensure integration of local and regional air, land and maritime transport strategies. Crucially, by creating a far more efficacious national transport network, incorporating, exploiting and enhancing national road, rail, air, maritime and littoral opportunities, integration and development, a national strategy, so long as it was truly comprehensive, would empower and add significance and value to regional and local transport plans.