As widely reported in this magazine and elsewhere, the devolution movement has been steadily gaining momentum throughout the UK. And it is now accelerating.
On 9 February my friends in the Core Cities group held a national devolution summit in Glasgow. City representatives from England, Scotland and Wales gathered to discuss local freedoms and local economic growth predicated on public service reform through devolution.
It is now the most natural thing in the world to question the respective roles of central and local government. We need to continue to devolve powers and functions back to our cities, towns and counties, empowering citizens who know their areas better than any well-intentioned Whitehall official can.
There is a groundswell of evidence-driven opinion to support this, ranging from Michael Heseltine’s seminal No Stone Unturned report to the recent work of Centre for Cities and the RSA City Growth Commission.
All of this, of course, is underpinned by steps we are taking to get much more investment into our regional economies.
On 12 February I announced an expansion to the Regional Growth Fund in England by nearly £300m, bringing the total investment in local jobs and enterprise over the six rounds of the RGF programme to £2.8bn. Combined with the £7bn allocated so far to the local enterprise partnerships through the growth deals, the Regional Growth Fund is delivering tangible benefits across the country.
For the property industry it provides certainty on which to base investment decisions. Confidence is increasing: the Department for Communities and Local Government announced in the third week of February that total starts on new homes last year were at their highest since 2007 and 10% higher than in 2013.
For every £1 the government has invested through the Regional Growth Fund, the private sector has put in £5.50, meaning the total investment is now expected to attract £16bn of private sector support. More than 100,000 jobs have already been created, with a further 480,000 expected by the mid-2020s.
So our commitment to the regions is backed by investment. And it is spreading from the cities. Some of our counties, for example, are well run and capable. I have told county council leaders that I would like to take similar steps to those we have taken with cities – devolving money and powers – with well-run places outside our big cities.
Cities have been leading the charge. But our counties could soon follow – once we get the distraction of the general election behind us.
Greg Clark is minister of state for universities, science and cities
