Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016

Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016
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Title	Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016
Enacted by	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Year	2016
Citation	2016 c. 1
Territorial extent	England and Wales
Royal assent	2016

Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 The Act is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the premiership of David Cameron that provided a statutory framework for devolution deals between central authorities and subnational bodies. It established powers enabling the creation of combined authorities with directly elected mayors, expanded competence for local administrative units, and adjusted consenting arrangements for local governance reform. The legislation formed part of a sequence of reforms following debates around the United Kingdom general election, 2015, the Localism Act 2011, and the Scotland Act 2012 and preceded devolution proposals linked to the Brexit referendum, 2016.

Background and legislative context

The Act emerged from policy discussions involving figures and institutions such as George Osborne, the Cabinet Office, and the Department for Communities and Local Government amid wider constitutional debates involving Devolution in the United Kingdom, the Mayor of London, and the historic decentralisation trends visible in Greater Manchester and Cornwall Council. The legislative context included prior statutes like the Local Government Act 2000 and political settlements brokered with city-regions including Liverpool City Region, Sheffield City Region, and Leeds City Region. Influences included manifestos from the Conservative Party (UK), the Liberal Democrats (UK), and commentary from think tanks such as the Institute for Government, Policy Exchange, and the Resolution Foundation. High-profile municipal leadership—e.g., Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram, and Sadiq Khan—shaped expectations around governance models, electoral mandates, and fiscal arrangements.

Provisions of the Act

Key provisions created legal mechanisms allowing the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to make orders establishing combined authorities and to create directly elected mayors for those authorities. The Act amended existing frameworks from the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and supplemented powers in relation to transport, planning and strategic economic functions delegated to combined authorities such as Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority. Statutory clauses set out consultation requirements involving local authorities like Manchester City Council, Sheffield City Council, and Nottingham City Council and defined procedures for transfer of functions from national bodies, including parts of the Highways Agency and some responsibilities previously exercised by Her Majesty's Government. The Act also provided for "county deals" enabling two-tier areas such as Essex County Council and Lancashire County Council to pursue devolution with elected mayors, and contained clauses on boundary amendments, electoral arrangements, and fiscal flexibilities interacting with institutions like Her Majesty's Treasury and the National Audit Office.

Devolution deals and mayoral combined authorities

Following enactment, a series of devolution deals were negotiated between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and local leaders culminating in mayoral combined authorities across regions including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, the Tees Valley Combined Authority, and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Deals specified responsibilities for transport franchises formerly overseen by bodies like Network Rail, housing initiatives involving Homes England, and skills provisions linked to the Department for Education and the Skills Funding Agency. Prominent elected mayors—Andy Burnham, Ben Houchen, Steve Rotheram, and Andy Street—became focal points of regional leadership, while combined authorities sometimes encompassed unitary authorities such as Birmingham City Council and Middlesbrough Borough Council.

Implementation and amendments

Implementation required secondary legislation, orders, and statutory instruments enacted by the Secretary of State and approvals through affirmative or negative procedures in the House of Commons and House of Lords. Subsequent modifications arose from local agreements and later statutes, with adjustments reflecting outcomes of political events like the United Kingdom general election, 2017 and the evolving role of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Amendments addressed operational detail on mayoral powers, transitional arrangements for constituent councils, and financial devolution linked to multi-year settlements negotiated with the Treasury. Some changes were driven by local referendums and governance reviews conducted by councils including Nottinghamshire County Council and Durham County Council.

Reception and political impact

Reception was mixed across parties and civic organisations: supporters in the Conservative Party (UK) and regional business groups framed the Act as empowering city-regions such as Leeds, Bristol, and Birmingham to drive growth, while critics in the Labour Party (UK), Liberal Democrats (UK), and campaign groups warned about democratic accountability concerns for offices like the elected metro-mayor and potential centralisation of powers from councils including Sheffield City Council and Norfolk County Council. Media commentary in outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, and The Times examined implications for public services administered by bodies like local clinical commissioning groups and for strategic planning tied to agencies such as Homes England. The Act influenced political narratives around regional identities—e.g., the Northern Powerhouse agenda—and affected electoral dynamics in mayoral contests, council by-elections, and party strategies at the Local elections in the United Kingdom.

Legal challenges and judicial review

Legal challenges and judicial review proceedings considered whether the statutory processes for creating combined authorities and mayoral offices complied with duties of consultation, equality impact assessment, and statutory interpretation arising under administrative law. Litigants included councils and interest groups seeking relief in the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), invoking principles connected to the Human Rights Act 1998 and statutory procedural fairness. Cases examined the validity of orders made under the Act and the scope of transferred functions, with some disputes resolved by consent and others producing leading judicial determinations that guided subsequent implementations and orders by the Secretary of State.

Category:United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2016