English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: Impact on Economic Development and Regeneration
- Aug 11, 2025
- 2 min read
To facilitate national economic recovery, the Government has launched new legislation and policy1 designed to turbo-charge local economies. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (“The Bill”) is the centrepiece to achieving this. The Bill, and the preceding White Paper, indicate major changes on the horizon for all involved in regeneration and economic development, which we summarise in this article.
Regional inequality, under-performing national economy
The UK is the most centralised nation in the G72. We also have the highest levels of regional inequality. Investment, innovation, productivity and growth is disproportionately weighted to London and the surrounding South-East. As a recent Financial Times study found, without London, the rest of the UK would be poorer than the US state of Mississippi. Under-performing local economies have resulted in nationally poor economic resilience, flat-lining growth and wage stagnation. That is what this Bill is trying to change.
Decentralisation via devolution
To decentralise, the Bill creates a new devolution framework, in which powers will be transferred out of Whitehall to ‘strategic authorities’ (either a CA, CCA, single authority or the GLA). This includes key levers for local growth, including, economic development and regeneration, transport and infrastructure, housing and strategic planning, and more.
It is the Government’s strong preference that strategic authorities are led by mayors, which is reflected in the extent of powers devolved: foundation strategic authorities (no mayor, least powers); mayoral strategic authorities (mid-tier); or established mayoral strategic authorities (most powers, including integrated settlements). It is believed this will drive local growth, and consequently the national economy, because regional leaders can combine their local knowledge with an increased freedom to make decisions, allocate resources, and use funding to further regional rather than just national priorities.
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