Talkin’ Bout a Devolution
We love democracy. And, when significant changes are afoot, we love helping ensure that all voices are heard.
That is why we are pleased to have played a role in helping residents and other stakeholders have their say on the landmark devolution deal that has the potential to shape the future of Greater Lincolnshire.
On Friday, March 15, North Lincolnshire Council joined North East Lincolnshire Council and Lincolnshire County Council in approving the full proposal laying out how a landmark devolution deal reached with the government late last year could work.
This historic deal will see greater decision-making powers transferred to the region along with £720 million in investment in Greater Lincolnshire over the next three decades. A new body will be established to oversee the new powers – the Greater Lincolnshire Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA), with a mayor to be directly elected by residents of Greater Lincolnshire. Existing councils will continue to provide the same services as today.
The idea is that local leaders are better positioned than central government to allocate funding to meet the needs of residents and local enterprises in areas such as transportation, adult education, and business growth.
More specifically the proposed deal will secure:
• A Mayoral Investment Fund of £24 million per annum for 30 years to invest in infrastructure and skills development totalling £720m
• One-off £28.4m capital investment in Greater Lincolnshire’s priorities
• £2m capacity funding over 3 years
• £1m skills for jobs funding
• Local control over the Adult Education Budget from 2026
• A consolidated, multi-year transport fund, providing increased financial certainty
The consultation
Following an agreement reached between the central government and the constituent councils in November of 2023, a public consultation was held to enable residents and local stakeholders to have their say on the terms of the devolution proposal.
The consultation ran between December 2023 and January 2024 and posed questions on the proposal’s six areas of focus: (i) new jobs and business growth; (ii) education and training; (iii) roads, buses and transport; (iv) homes and communities; (v) environment; and (vi) governance, as well as capturing general views on the proposal.
Alma Economics was commissioned by the constituent councils to provide independent analysis of the responses to the consultation. In total, 4,101 responses were received. Relative to its total population of 1.1 million, Greater Lincolnshire achieved the highest response rate across recent devolution consultations (0.31%).
We provided both quantitative and qualitative analysis of the closed and open-text responses, identifying key themes. Our report then informed the final proposal which was amended, taking into account the results of the consultation.
The overall responses were as follows:
• 53% agreed with the proposals relating to new jobs and business growth, 32% disagreed, and 15% did not know or were neutral.
• 57% agreed with the proposals relating to education and training, 31% disagreed, and 12% did not know or were neutral.
• 57% agreed with the proposals relating to roads, buses and transport, 33% disagreed, and 10% did not know or were neutral.
• 48% agreed with the proposals relating to homes and communities, 37% disagreed, and 14% did not know or were neutral.
• 57% agreed with the proposals relating to the environment, 31% disagreed, and 12% did not know or were neutral.
• 39% agreed with the proposals relating to governance, 49% disagreed, and 13% did not know or were neutral.
Read more about the consultation including our full analysis here.
Read the councils’ report in response to the consultation analysis here.