Devolution

Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. It is a process that enables more decisions to be made locally, closer to the residents and businesses affected.

The UK Government published a devolution white paper on 16 December 2024, setting out its plans for devolution in England.

Administrative boundaries don’t relate to real life – where we live, work, shop, socialise and engage in leisure activities cross local authority boundaries all the time. A Mayoral Combined County Authority would look at the area as a whole which would give it a unique ability to consider that the region’s supporting infrastructure needs such as roads, rail, adult skills training and support for business to work better for those who live, work and visit Hampshire and the Solent.

A devolution agreement would create a new single body, known as a Strategic Authority. The Strategic Authority would cover the combined geographic area of Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton. This combined area will be known as Hampshire and the Solent.

The Hampshire and the Solent Strategic Authority will be led by a directly elected Mayor. Subject to the approval of the devolution agreement, the first Mayoral election in Hampshire and the Solent is expected to take place in May 2026. The Strategic Authority will become operational at around the same time.

With a Strategic Authority and Mayor in place, Hampshire and the Solent will receive new powers and funding from central government. More decisions on transport connectivity, skills and employment support, housing and strategic planning, economic development, energy and public safety can be made in our region.

The Government's devolution white paper contains a summary table of functions that will be devolved to Mayoral areas (see pages 86 to 90).

Where Strategic Authorities will sit in the central / local government landscape

Current

Central Government
Controls many things that have local impacts, such as regional transport networks, regional planning decisions.

Local councils
Can only raise money through council tax and have little say in regional decisions.

After devolution

Transfer of powers and access to better funding.

Central Government
Controls national-level decision making.

Strategic authorities
New 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

Local councils
Have representatives at the strategic authority, so can influence policy.

The Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) has been set up by the UK Government for areas seeking to come to a devolution agreement more quickly.

In January 2025, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton Councils submitted a joint expression of interest in joining the DPP.

On 5 February 2025, the Government announced that Hampshire and the Solent is one of six areas across England to take part in the DPP in 2025 and 2026.

Hampshire’s participation on the Devolution Priority Programme means that we have a more intensive schedule for implementing devolution than other areas of the country. The work to unlock devolution for the region and establish the new Hampshire and the Solent Strategic Authority must be completed within 15 months, so that the first Mayoral election can take place in May 2026.

Separately, the Government has sent a formal invitation to all county and district councils and neighbouring small unitary councils to develop proposals for local government reorganisation. The final proposals in each area must be submitted in September 2025.

The Government has granted a small number of councils permission to postpone their election by one year only, from May 2025 to May 2026. This includes Hampshire County Council and Isle of Wight Council. This is essential to ensure the necessary stability, capacity and commitment to deliver devolution at pace in 2025 and 2026.

In her statement to MPs on 5 February, the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted that it would be an "expensive and irresponsible waste of taxpayers' money" if elections take place in May 2025 to a local authority that will not exist in its current form in a few years' time.

Devolution will transfer greater powers and flexibilities from Westminster to the Hampshire and the Solent region, accompanied by additional funding and investment. This shift will enable local authorities to make crucial decisions closer to where residents live and work, driving economic growth, innovation, and productivity.

• Long-term investment fund for the region, with an agreed annual allocation.
• Simplification and consolidation of local transport funding.
• Devolution of non-apprenticeship adult skills functions through a consolidated skills funding pot.
• A central role in convening local youth careers provision, including greater flexibility for careers hubs.
• Devolution of supported employment funding.
• Devolution of wider grant funding to support regeneration and housing delivery.
• A strategic partnership with the Government focused on domestic growth, exports, investment and delivery of local growth priorities.
• Partnership working with Government bodies on culture, heritage, and sport spending.
• Coordinating local energy planning to support development of regional network energy infrastructure.

The Government's devolution white paper contains a summary table of functions that will be devolved to Mayoral areas (see pages 86 to 90).

Subject to the approval of the devolution agreement, the first Mayoral election in Hampshire and the Solent is expected to take place in May 2026.

The Government undertook an eight week public consultation to seek local views which ran from 17 February to 13 April.

The findings will help inform a final decision by Government on establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority for Hampshire and the Solent.

The term ‘governance arrangements’ refers to the creation of a new strategic authority that is led by an elected Mayor. The Mayor would be required to appoint a Deputy Mayor from the Constituent Members (see below).

The proposed governance arrangements include the following:

Constituent Councils and Members – the four upper-tier local authorities (Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council) have representation on the Mayoral Combined Authority. Hampshire County Council has two seats on the new Combined County Authority due to the proportion of the area that it is responsible for, the other areas have one seat each. There are five constituent council members in total. District councils cannot be a Constituent member

Non-Constituent and Associate Members – a maximum of five places, representing key partners such as a district council, the local NHS Trust, or the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Communities and businesses don’t structure their lives and operations around local authority administrative boundaries. A Mayoral Combined County Authority would consider the Hampshire and Solent area as a whole, which would help direct funding and projects to be focused in the right places to develop and grow local economies as well as the whole area’s economy. One of the biggest advantages to a Mayoral Combined County Authority for Hampshire and the Solent would be the additional powers and access to devolved funding granted by Government. This means that decisions will be made by local people who understand what the area needs.

The devolved powers and funding include adult education funding, which would help skills and training to be more closely aligned to the skills that local businesses need. - creating a local workforce that can support economic growth, providing more opportunities for local people.

The Mayoral Combined County Authority would also provide a focus on attracting inward investment which would bring new employers and industries to the area.

New transport powers would also enable the Mayoral Combined County Authority to deliver the infrastructure needs (roads, public transport solutions) needed to support the local economy.

See the Government’s English Devolution White Paper for more information on the powers, funding and responsibilities that will be devolved to Mayoral areas.

Social outcomes from the creation of a Mayoral Combined County Authority could include:

A Mayoral Combined County Authority will support greater co-ordination across services provided by local authorities in the Hampshire and Solent area.

A Directly Elected Mayor will also have the ability to improve coordination between local authorities and public, private and voluntary sector partners in Hampshire and the Solent.

It is proposed that the Mayoral Combined County Authority will have a key role to play in decarbonisation and protecting the natural environment and biodiversity through:

• co-ordinating the zoning of local heat networks
• implementing the Warm Homes Plan
• leading the Local Nature Recovery Strategy
• having increased influence with Government and local partners to drive the low carbon agenda