Devolution Combined County Authorities
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee produced a report on their inquiry into the progress of devolution in England in October 2021 1 . The Government responded in March 2022 2 .
	The Act supports the delivery of the Local Leadership Mission, fundamental to deepening devolution across England, by including measures to create a new model of combined county authority, consisting of upper-tier local authorities only. At present, the available model for establishing a combined authority is primarily designed for urban areas. To address this, the Act creates a new model for a ‘combined county authority’, which is made up of upper-tier local authorities only. The main difference between combined county authorities and combined authorities is the membership: a combined county authority must include one two-tier county council and at least one other upper tier county council or upper tier unitary authority (i.e. district councils cannot be members and do not consent to the forming of a combined county authority), whereas a combined authority has to include all the local authorities within the area it is to cover (i.e. in a two-tier area, the county council and all district councils must be members, and consent to the forming of the combined authority). In all other matters, there is parity between the two types of authority.
	The new model for a ‘combined county authority’ provides a model which is more appropriate for non-metropolitan areas, many of which have two-tier local government. The Act also streamlines the process for authorities to bring forward proposals for combined authorities. The Act reduces the consent requirements regarding changing the constitutions of combined authorities, which are required to extend or deepen devolution deals negotiated with central Government. The Act also includes measures to enable local authorities to move into directly elected leadership governance models more quickly to support devolution deals. Measures in the Act will also enhance the overview and scrutiny and audit of new and existing combined authorities by enabling remuneration for committee members to attend relevant meetings. Finally, the Act provides for authorities with directly elected mayors to give those mayors a title reflecting the character and preferences of that area.