New English Devolution White Paper

Joint statement from leaders of the region’s three councils: Cllr Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council; Cllr Hans Mundry, Leader of Warrington Borough Council; and the Leader and Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Nick Mannion and Cllr Michael Gorman.

“We welcome the new English Devolution White Paper which demonstrates the Government’s commitment to devolving powers away from London to regions like Cheshire & Warrington.

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, said she recognises that we, as local leaders, know our regions best and set out how devolution would provide new powers and money to invest in the things that are important to our residents, communities and businesses.

It’s clear that devolution is going to become the default way of working across a range of government policy areas, and that it would bring significant power and funding to the Cheshire & Warrington region. The White Paper provides us with the foundation for more detailed conversations with government about what devolution could look like for us.

We’re ambitious for our region. Devolution would allow us to make more decisions here in Cheshire & Warrington, rather than decisions about our region and its almost 1 million residents being made in London.

We’re a successful region but we also face pressure in key areas that the government wants to devolve to regions, such as transport, skills and housing.

Devolution would allow us to focus on what is most important to us. We need affordable and convenient transport for residents in our rural areas and our towns, large and small; affordable homes in the right places, close to employment and services, and a workforce with the skills our businesses need.

The White Paper sets out how devolution is about national government transferring powers and resources away from London and into regions. It’s not about merging councils. Individual councils would retain their current responsibilities and continue to provide services for local people.

Devolution could offer us many opportunities - and it has to be right for our region, our residents, communities and businesses. We will create opportunities for people living and working in Cheshire & Warrington to have their say through a range of consultation and engagement events that will be used to help inform the devolution agreement.”

The Cheshire & Warrington region comprises Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester and Warrington councils, working alongside Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington.   

At its meeting on November 29, Cheshire and Warrington Joint Committee, which provides leadership on strategic economic issues for the region, agreed to amend its terms of reference allowing it to provide oversight and direction for potential devolution. If all three councils agree to changes to the Terms of Reference, the Joint Committee will be able to form specific recommendations about any devolution agreement that would then be put to each council for a final, formal decisions.