Areas involved include Liverpool City Region, the West Midlands and Sheffield
The government has announced that 38 devolution proposals have been submitted from cities, towns and counties across the UK.
Each area has submitted ambitious proposals to take control of how public money is spent in their local area. Bids have come in from the length and breadth of the country including Liverpool City Region, Greater Brighton, the Sheffield City Region and the West Midlands.
The 38 bids received ahead of the September 4 deadline include the application for powers in a wide range of spending areas including education, transport, healthcare, housing and business support.
Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Spreading opportunity, increasing social mobility, helping people get on – these aims run through this government like letters through a stick of rock.
“The best businesses would never shy away from allowing their customers to shape the way they improve their services. If we are bold enough, government can go one better by actually putting many of those services in the hands of local people. It is also a proven reality that money spent closer to people is often money spent wiser – so we can really deliver more for less.”
Chancellor George Osborne said: “Earlier this summer I asked local leaders to come forward with their ideas to build on our radical devolution plans. We have had hugely ambitious proposals from all over the country showing that local areas are as enthusiastic as I am about shifting power out of Whitehall.”
Successful deals from the proposals will be supported through the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill currently passing through Parliament. The proposals will now be considered as part of the Spending Review process.
The Bill puts in place the legal framework across the country that will make it simpler to devolve more powers to more places and sets out far reaching powers to be devolved to Greater Manchester and for creating a city-wide elected metro mayor.
The full list of submitted devolution proposals is as follows:
Aberdeen, Cardiff, Cheshire & Warrington, Cornwall, Cumbria, Dorset, ‘D2N2 (Derby & Nottingham), Edinburgh, Gloucestershire, Greater Brighton, Greater Essex, Greater Lincolnshire, Greater Manchester, Greater Yorkshire, Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Heart of the South West, Herefordshire, Hull Yorkshire Leeds City Region & the Northern Powerhouse, Inverness & Highland City, Leeds City Region, Leicester & Leicestershire, Liverpool City Region, London, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North East, Oxfordshire, Sheffield City Region, Surrey West Sussex & East Sussex, Swindon, Suffolk, Tees Valley, Telford & Wrekin, West Midlands, West of England, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and finally York, North Yorkshire & East Riding.
Besides the proposals listed above, the government also received a number of other representations and letters of support related to devolution, all of which it said will be considered carefully.
