Mayors will get powers to drive growth, turbocharge housebuilding and improve transport in a transformative ‘devolution revolution’, the government has said.

In its English Devolution White Paper published this week, the government says it has put England’s regions centre stage in its Plan for Change missions to grow the economy, deliver 1.5 million homes and boost opportunity across the country.

Under proposals set out in the White Paper, mayors will take a more direct role in plans for their areas than ever before, equipped with a range of new powers across strategic planning, housing, transport and skills. And they will be handed the tools they need to deliver on the ambitious Plan for Change in their regions, the government claims.

Mayors in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and the North East will be the first to receive new integrated funding settlements, covering housing, regeneration, local growth, transport, skills, retrofit and employment support.

With two new mayoral and six non-mayoral devolution agreements confirmed since the summer, devolution will now be extended and deepened across England, giving all communities the opportunity to take back control.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner said: “Devolution is about delivering fundamental change at every level. It’s about giving local leaders the tools – and the trust – they need to forge their areas’ futures.

“It’s about raising living standards, improving public services and building the homes we so desperately need – all key aspects of our Plan for Change. It cuts across every aspect of government.

“We have an economy that hoards potential and a politics that hoards power. So our devolution revolution will deliver the greatest transfer of power from Whitehall to our communities in a generation, empowering those communities to realise their potential. And nobody is more excited about it than I am.”

Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution Jim McMahon said: “At its core, this White Paper sets out how the government will strengthen and widen the mayoral model of devolution across England. It will shift power, decision making and money away from Westminster as part of a completely new way of governing, equipping more mayors working hand in glove with confident and stable local councils with a stronger set of levers to drive growth in their communities.

“It will empower them through integrated funding settlements, a direct role in the rail network, greater control over strategic planning and housing funding and skills training, so that they can deliver tangible change on a local and regional level.

“To do this we will rebuild and reform local government as the foundation for devolution, a reset in the relationship between central and local government, and give communities stronger tools to shape the future of their local areas.”

According to the government, the White Paper will give mayors power over:

  • Planning and housing, putting regions at the centre of the drive to build 1.5 million homes in this parliament
  • Transport, to drive a locally integrated transport network that works for communities and supports local economic growth, with improved train services and better travel to and from rail stations, by bus, tram and active travel
  • Skills and employment support to so everyone has the opportunities and can access good jobs
  • Local growth plans to accelerate regional growth and productivity, setting a long-term vision for the next decade, and a roadmap for how this will be achieved

Devolution has already been enacted or is underway in the following areas:

Existing MCA/MCCAs

  • North East
  • Tees Valley
  • York & North Yorkshire
  • West Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire
  • Greater Manchester
  • East Midlands
  • Liverpool City Region
  • West Midlands
  • Cambridge & Peterborough
  • Greater London
  • West of England

MCA/MCCAs in the process of being established (confirmed since election)

  • Greater Lincolnshire
  • Hull & East Yorkshire

Non-mayoral institutions in the process of being established  (confirmed since election)

  • Lancashire
  • Devon & Torbay

Single Local Authority non-mayoral agreements in the process of being established (confirmed since election)

  • Cornwall
  • Surrey
  • Buckinghamshire
  • Warwickshire