A report into the devolution in England has said that central government has “not clearly set out” what is required from local areas.
The report, by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), warns that the timetable to implement devolution deals in the coming months is “extremely challenging”, and that any delay in this process “could put the proposed May 2017 [local and mayoral] elections at risk”. It also reveals the “alarming” failure of Local Enterprise Partnerhships (LEPs) to meet “basic standards of governance and transparency”.
“Central government has not set out clearly what is required from local areas in putting forward devolution proposals, and equally what is and is not on offer from central government in return,” the report reads.
“It is alarming that LEPs are not meeting basic standards of governance and transparency, such as disclosing conflicts of interest to the public...The fact that 42 per cent of LEPs do not publish a register of interests is clearly a risk to ensuring that decisions are made free from any actual or perceived conflicts of interest.”
‘No one has a clue about devolution’
There are currently nine areas with devolution deals agreed covering FE and skills:Tees Valley, West Yorkshire, Sheffield City Region, Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, North East, Cornwall and London. Central government is set to transfer accountability for the delivery of a number of objectives from 2017-18.
Over 20 more areas have drawn up devolution bids covering skills and employment policy. In March, Labour peer Lord Blunkett said he was “very worried” about the devolution of adult skills funding to regions across England.
He claimed that “no one has a clue” about how the new arrangements will work, “not because the principle isn’t right, but because...it’s absolutely clear that no one’s got a clue what they’re doing.”
Today’s report found that discrepencies in the delivery of skills funding between regions was a concern, with per capita funding ranging from £11 a year in Greater Manchester to £27 a year in the West of England.
PAC chair Meg Hillier said: “Devolution involves big changes to the way large sums of taxpayers’ money are spent on their behalf. It is therefore alarming to report that, as we hurtle towards mayoral elections planned for next year, so many questions still hang over the process.
“Parliament and the public must be assured that devolved spending is subject to effective scrutiny and there are clear lines of accountability for delivering value for money. These vital arrangements are still very much work-in-progress and must be confirmed as a matter of urgency.”
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