Making devolution count: from economic growth to better lives

Devolution gives strategic authorities new opportunities to shape their local economies and move power out of Westminster. But having more powers is only a starting point. The challenge for mayors and new authorities is to turn those powers into tangible improvements in people’s lives. 

The key questions should be: how can authorities ensure economic growth delivers better jobs and living standards? How can they use public spending to strengthen local economies and supply chains? And how can combined authorities work together with other institutions to create healthier, more equal communities? 

Drawing on our research, alongside practical experience across England, CLES helps strategic authorities answer these questions and translate ambitions for good growth into practical action. A consistent lesson is that economic growth and improvements in people’s lives are not the same thing.  

Over the past two years, CLES has worked with The King’s Fund, with support from the Health Foundation, to explore the relationship between local economic development and health inequalities. This research highlights an important challenge for strategic authorities: economic growth does not automatically lead to better health outcomes or more equal opportunities. Who benefits from this growth – the quality of jobs people can access, the wages they earn and the affordability of essentials like housing and transport – all shapes health and wellbeing outcomes.  

For combined authorities, this means that decisions about economic development are also decisions about the conditions in which people live and work. CLES’s research on health inequalities and local growth plans helps make these connections visible, providing evidence that can inform how authorities set their economic priorities and assess the benefits of growth. By understanding where local economic inequalities are most entrenched, authorities can develop growth strategies that do more than increase economic output: they can help improve job quality, raise living standards and create the conditions for healthier communities. 

That means looking beyond the high-growth industries that often dominate economic policy. In the North East, CLES’s analysis of the foundational economy highlighted a significant missed opportunity: despite most people in the region working in foundational sectors such as care, retail, construction and hospitality, these sectors had not been prioritised in the combined authority’s growth plans, in favour of the government’s IS-8 sectors. Understanding the role these industries play in the regional economy is essential to developing strategies that reflect the needs of local communities. CLES’s economic analysis helps strategic authorities identify where their interventions can make the greatest difference, from improving pay, job security and working conditions to using public procurement and commissioning to strengthen local supply chains, support local businesses and keep more wealth circulating in the region. By grounding economic and procurement strategies in the realities of local economies, authorities can ensure that growth supports the industries people rely on every day and delivers more tangible improvements to living standards. 

Our work with the West Midlands Combined Authority and Power to Change highlighted the barriers facing social economy organisations. In our regional survey, 80 per cent of respondents reported barriers to sustaining or growing their organisations, while just 17 per cent felt adequate support was available. For strategic authorities, this points to an opportunity to review whether local business support, access to finance and procurement arrangements are enabling these organisations to contribute fully to the regional economy. 

This points to something bigger than individual programmes. Driving good growth also means changing how institutions work together. Strategic authorities, councils, the NHS and other local anchor institutions have substantial spending power and influence. When their efforts remain separate, opportunities are missed. Aligned around shared priorities, they can begin to reshape local economies.  

In York and North Yorkshire, CLES supported the development of England’s first mayoral Community Wealth Building Commission, helping explore how the region could use its collective economic resources to build a more resilient, healthy and inclusive economy. 

The commission’s proposals include a regional anchor network, support for co-operatives and community businesses, and a more deliberate approach to public investment and procurement. They demonstrate how CLES can help strategic authorities bring partners together, identify opportunities to retain more wealth locally and develop practical proposals for change. 

These are proposed routes towards change, rather than outcomes already delivered. Their value lies in giving the region a clearer framework for turning its ambitions into action. 

The lesson across these places is not that one model can be copied wholesale. Every place has different economic strengths, inequalities and opportunities. There is no single model for good growth that every strategic authority can adopt.  

CLES works with strategic authorities to understand their local economies, identify the partnerships and levers that can make change happen and develop practical approaches to growth that benefit more people. Whether you are developing a regional growth plan, aligning procurement strategy with local needs or looking to build stronger partnerships across your region, we can provide tailored support to turn your ambitions into a clear programme of action.  

The powers are increasingly there. The challenge now is to make them count. If your authority is considering how to make growth work better for local people, get in touch through info@cles.org.uk.