Remmert Keijzer writes, “In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond reiterated that devolution is still “very much at the heart of this Government.” With a new post-Brexit Government, many local authorities in England wondered just how committed the Government actually was to delivering on its promise to devolve powers to English local authorities, as since March 2016 ‘only’ 12 devolution deals were signed and a great many collapsed.

Ever since the first deal was signed between the Government and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority back in 2014, we have highlighted the ‘democratic deficit‘ behind these devolution deals and have stressed just how important it is to engage the public on changes to services and to governance. Any significant reconfiguration of local authorities requires, in our view, proper engagement before any deal is agreed.

The House of Commons Library just published a briefing paper called ‘Devolution to Local Government‘, and briefly touches on public consultation but fails to address the inherent lack of public engagement behind these deals, and what many people perceive to be negotiations ‘behind closed doors’.

This otherwise comprehensive Commons Library briefing paper, is a summary of the main developments of English local government since 2014 and is a must-read for those authorities seeking their own devolution deals.