Devolution White Paper UPDATE

from NALC

...following a meeting with county officers on Wednesday 8 January


The English Devolution White Paper is dominating thinking within local government, with many proposals now happening at pace. As expected, it will be a key feature of all our work in the coming weeks and months. Just this week, many upper-tier councils will discuss whether to make a clear commitment to government on devolution and local government reorganisation and to request the postponement of elections in May. We will be pushing for the creation of new parish and town councils across those areas which go for unitary status. The consultation on a national audit strategy set out in the white paper seeks views by the end of January. We will be working with our colleagues at the Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments (SAAA) to support the proposals for increased audit thresholds and call for other audit changes whilst seeking to ensure that we have a sector-led approach to limited assurance. The hugely welcome consultation on strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities seeks views on introducing measures to strengthen the standards and conduct regime in England and ensure consistency of approach amongst councils investigating serious breaches of their member codes of conduct, including introducing the power of suspension. To help inform our response, we need your views and have opened a survey until 2 February to collect your views and insights. Our Policy Committee is meeting on 28 January to discuss the white paper, and we are planning a wider session for our National Assembly members and county officers. We will also work closely with colleagues in the Society of Local Council Clerks, Local Government Association and other national bodies. This week, we also met with government officials to share some of our initial views and discuss the development of elements of the white paper. The first fortnightly meeting with county officers of 2025 focussed on the white paper with colleagues considering the impact local government reorganisation will have on their counties and the experience of those that have already gone unitary. There was a strong emphasis on this being an opportunity to introduce new parish and town councils where they do not currently exist, and several ways we can support county associations were proposed, such as template letters and sharing knowledge and good practice.