The Consultation on Devolution in Hampshire, IoW and the Solent is now open.

The consultation will close on 13 April 2025.

Devolution is when the government passes down some of its national powers to our region. There will be an elected Mayor, and a Strategic Authority made up of a group of councils who work together in a structured way to use the devolved powers and funding.

The Strategic Authority is not a new council and does not replace existing councils. It might be easier to think of it as a board of directors made up of member councils.

The current tier 1 unitary councils of HCC, IoW, Portsmouth, and Southampton would be the “constituent” members of the Strategic Authority, and Borough and District councils may be “non-constituent members” with a voice and role in decision-making.

The elected Mayor would also be a member of the Strategic Authority. The voting arrangement for decisions is a simple majority in favour, including the Mayor. So, a Mayor cannot just ride roughshod over the other members.

If devolution happens Central Government will control national-level decision making and the new Strategic Authority with have regional duties and powers in:

• funding and investment
• transport and local infrastructure
• skills and employment
• housing and planning
• economic development
• environment and climate change
• health and wellbeing
• public safety

The Mayor would represent us on the Council of Nations and Regions. This includes the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Mayors of other Combined Authorities. Our region has a population bigger than Northern Ireland and an economy on a par with Wales so it is right that we should have more say and control over decisions that affect us.

Devolution for our region is an exciting prospect and will benefit our area enormously. Local councils in Hampshire will not have to bid against each other for small pots of money from national government but will be able to work together to develop strategies and funding for the whole area. No more competing against each other for funding for things like public transport, economic growth, or tackling deprivation. Competitive bidding often means some parts of Hampshire lose out while others gain, and our governments devolution plan will enable us to create a joined-up strategies and deliver them for us all.

It will also bring significant additional funding to drive economic prosperity and improve the lives of local people.

There is a good explanation of devolution on the Hampshire County Website here https://www.hants.gov.uk/aboutthecouncil/governmentinhampshire/devolution .

There is also a longer version on the Governments website here https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution-consultation#proposed-institution-governance-and-decision-making-arrangements

The online consultation consists of six simple questions, and you can even give reasons for your views if you wish. The link to the consultation is here https://consult.communities.gov.uk/lggc/hampshire-and-the-solent-devolution-consultation but I recommend looking at either the HCC or Government web explanations first.

Local Government Reorganisation

You may have heard about proposed changes or mergers of councils to make new larger unitary councils. When this happens it will be the new councils that will be constituent members of the Strategic Authority.  This is a separate process of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). It is not part of the Devolution process or current consultation. There will be a separate consultation for LGR later. You can read more about Local Government Reorganisation here. https://hampshire.laboursites.org/local-government-reorganisation-news/

Cllr Kim Taylor

Group Leader Hampshire Labour