Devolution
Devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from central government to local authority level.
Decisions will be made closer to the local people, communities and businesses they affect. It will provide greater freedoms and flexibilities for councils to work more effectively to improve public services and outcomes for residents and businesses.
You can find out more about devolution and the timeline on essex.gov.uk.
The government has confirmed that:
- Essex County Council (ECC), Southend-on-Sea City Council and Thurrock Council will be part of its Devolution Priority Programme
- the elections scheduled for May 2025 for ECC and Thurrock Council will be suspended for an initial period of a year
If proposals to reorganise local authorities are agreed, it is likely that there will be no further elections to ECC until its abolition, other than by-elections.
This devolution deal will create a new single body, known as a strategic authority, for Essex. It will initially take the form of a combined county authority.
Support for the Greater Essex Business Board (GEBB), including leading strategic business engagement, will be incorporated into the strategic authority.
How devolution will work in practice
Devolution and Local Government Reform are two separate, but connected, things.
Devolution would mean the creation of a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) which would sit above the current county, unitary, city, district and borough councils across Greater Essex (Essex, Thurrock and Southend).
The MCCA would mean some new powers would be devolved from central government, as well as some strategic work from the current upper tier authorities (ECC, Thurrock and Southend councils) moving into the MCCA.
The devolved powers and budgets that the MCCA would cover are:
- transport and local infrastructure
- skills and employment support
- housing and strategic planning
- economic development and regeneration
- environment and climate change
- heath, wellbeing and public service reform
- public safety