Whitworth residents encouraged to have their say on Greater Manchester-style devolution deal for Lancashire

Lancashire residents – including those in Whitworth – have just under a month left to have their say on the county’s long-awaited devolution deal.

A public consultation is well underway on the provisional agreement, which was signed by council leaders in November after more than seven years of stalled attempts.

The deal was struck by the area’s three top-tier local authorities – Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council – and, if confirmed, will see Lancashire handed a range of powers that it does not currently have at its disposal.

The 15 council leaders in the county have long clashed over the practicalities of devolution – and the difficulty they have had agreeing amongst themselves has, until now, conspired with ever-shifting government demands to keep a deal just out of reach.

Even with an agreement now on the table, the political wrangling goes on, with the three authorities involved in drawing it up extolling the benefits they claim the arrangement will bring and eight of the dozen district leaders in the county warning that it is so inadequate it needs a wholesale rethink.

However, for the first time on Lancashire’s long and winding road to devolution, the process dictates at this point that the voice of the public should now be heard – not just that of the politicians.

Responses to the consultation – which closes on 26 January – could help refine or reshape the deal, Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Williamson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) last month.

A series of special events are also set to begin across the county at which residents can quiz officials about the county’s devolution ambitions.

So if you would like to get involved, but first need to get past the politics and find out exactly what the government has put on the table for Lancashire, here is the LDRS guide to the county’s devolution offer.

What is devolution? 

Devolution is the transfer of powers and responsibilities, historically held by central government, to local areas – giving the people and politicians in those places more control over the decisions that affect them.

Deals of different types have been done between the government and various parts of England – including Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region – over the past decade.

In 2022, the government introduced a new framework for devolution, with three ‘levels’ of agreement available depending on the governance arrangements that an area was willing to put in place to oversee its new powers.

The deeper the deal, the stronger the oversight demanded – ranging from the formation of a joint committee of councils in the devolution area for level 1 to a combined county authority at level 2 and an elected mayor and full combined authority for level 3.

What type of deal has Lancashire been offered?

Lancashire has negotiated a level 2 deal with the government. Its seven-year search for an agreement has often been thwarted by local rows over the elected mayor that would be required for what is now the most extensive level 3 arrangement.

What will Lancashire get as part of its deal?

The proposed deal includes:

• Control over the adult education budget for the county and new powers to better shape local skills provision to ensure that it meets the needs of the local economy.
• Up to £20 million capital funding to support “innovation-led growth”, including by maximising the benefits of the forthcoming arrival of the National Cyber Force headquarters in Samlesbury and the push towards a net-zero carbon economy.
• Compulsory purchase powers to acquire land that will be used to help drive the regeneration of the area and build more affordable homes.
• New powers to improve and better integrate local transport – including the ability to introduce bus franchising, subject to separate approval from the government.  The new combined county authority would also have responsibility for an area-wide local transport plan.
• Potential for closer partnership working with government bodies to strengthen the local visitor and tourist economy.

What more could Lancashire get if it had a level 3 deal?

According to the government’s Levelling Up White paper, level 3 devolution would also include a say over local rail, greater control over brownfield regeneration and the setting up of a long-term investment fund, with an agreed annual allocation.

How will the proposed deal work?

A new county combined authority (CCA) will be set up to discharge Lancashire’s devolved powers.  Its core constituent members will be from the top-tier authorities that signed the deal – two from Lancashire County Council and one each from Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen councils.

Two district council members will also sit on the body, but as non-constituent members, they will not have a vote.   

A further two associate or non-constituent members can be appointed by the CCA, with the option of choosing representatives from the business and academic sectors in the county.

All 15 existing councils in Lancashire – county, standalone and district – will remain in place and continue to operate as they do now.

The new CCA will rely on the resources of its constituent members to operate, as it will not have the power to levy its own charge on council tax bills. However, the government is to provide £1m in financial support over the first three years of its life.

What is the case for Lancashire devolution?

Whatever their thoughts on the merits – or otherwise – of particular types of devolution deal, most politicians seem to agree that the concept itself is a beneficial one and that it is worth Lancashire having a deal.

In particular, it is hoped that devolved power will give the county an economic boost.  Twenty-five years ago, Lancashire had the second-largest economy in the North West – a position that it held until the 2008 financial crash.

The subsequent downturn badly affected the county and its economy did not return to pre-2008 levels until 2014, whereas both Greater Manchester and Cheshire had recovered by 2011.

Meanwhile, Cumbria and the Liverpool City Region both enjoyed a stronger recovery than Lancashire, with Cumbria getting to 3.3 percent above its pre-crisis level and the Liverpool City Region growing by two percent – while Lancashire achieved just one percent growth compared to 2008.  

The county’s economy has since been overtaken by the Liverpool City Region, which has had a devolution deal since 2016.

The hope is that devolution spurs Lancashire to a quicker economic recovery from the pandemic than it had from the global financial crisis.  

The contraction caused by Covid saw the county lose £3.8 billion on the ‘gross value added’ economic measure during the first year of the pandemic – and its economy remains smaller than before the virus struck.

The county also has a problem with productivity, meaning that its economy is less efficient than it could be.

Productivity in Lancashire was 12.7 percent below the national average back in 2004, but by 2021, that gap had grown to 15.3 percent.

Have your say

To take part in the consultation, click here by 26 January.

Paper questionnaires are available from Lancashire libraries or by calling 0300 123 6782.

Want to know more?

The full devolution deal can be found here and a draft proposal prepared by Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council and Blackpool Council here.

Paul Faulkner, Local Democracy Reporting Service