Devolution: Beyond the rhetoric

Ahead of the Autumn Statement announcement on Wednesday 23rd November, CLES has published a six-point think piece entitled ‘Devolution: Beyond the rhetoric’.

This short paper challenges the Government narrative on devolution, and explores the extent of the devolved power deficit in comparison to the vast amounts of new risk and responsibility devolved to local government.

Its author, Victoria Bettany, Senior Research at CLES, argues that real power, real budgets and real revenue raising capacity remain at the whim of Whitehall, and that purported opportunities around business rate retention and the lack of political will to address long-standing issues with council tax provide clear examples of this.

The think piece concludes that without true devolution of power, the potential contribution of local government towards a prosperous future for people and place is in danger of drowning in a mire of unnecessary fiscal constraints and excessive levels of localised risk.

To read the think piece in full, click here.