Overview of the Act
The Act is intended to support delivery of the Government's manifesto commitment to "devolve powers and budgets to boost local growth in England", in particular to "devolve far-reaching powers over economic development, transport and social care to large cities which choose to have elected mayors" and "legislate to deliver the historic deal for Greater Manchester". The Act takes forward a number of reforms which are intended to allow for the implementation of devolution agreements with combined authority areas and with other areas. It is enabling legislation which provides a legislative framework which can be applied flexibly to different areas by secondary legislation. It will enable secondary legislation to:
enable any public authority function relating to an area to be conferred on a county council or district council;
provide for streamlined local governance as agreed by councils;
provide for fast track structural and boundary changes to non-unitary local authority areas where at least one local authority asks for this;
enable any public authority function relating to an area to be conferred on a combined authority;
confer any local government function on a combined authority (these are currently limited to economic development, regeneration, and transport);
provide for an elected mayor for a combined authority’s area who would exercise specified functions individually and chair the authority; and
provide for the possibility for the mayor additionally to undertake the functions of a Police and Crime Commissioner for the combined authority area (in place of the Police and Crime Commissioner).
	The Act also:
streamlines the process for making changes to existing combined authorities and establishing and changing the area of a combined authority or an economic prosperity board, and removes geographical limitations as to the establishment of combined authorities and economic prosperity boards;
makes certain other changes to arrangements for local governance;
amends the National Health Service Act 2006 to provide for joint and devolved exercise of functions (including provisions about sharing and control of patient data).
provides National Park Authorities with a functional power of competence;
inserts provision into the Local Transport Act 2008 to enable the establishment of Sub-national Transport Bodies, enabling decision making over strategic transport schemes to be devolved below national level.