London seeks combined authority powers

London council leaders have called on the government to give them the same powers to pool funding through combined authority arrangements as exist in the rest of England.
The government is currently considering responses to a consultation on amendments to 2009 legislation which has so far seen four groups of councils create combined authorities with powers over transport and economic regeneration.
The legislation excluded London, and now leaders have raised concerns that this has created a barrier to them being able to promote growth in the capital.
An officer report to the executive of London Councils said: “The combined authority model is gaining traction nationally as a vehicle for early steps to devolution in the next Parliament and as a result there is a danger that London boroughs may be inadvertently disadvantaged compared to other metropolitan areas.”
London Councils has requested a dialogue with ministers and officials about how best the legislation relating to combined authorities could be amended to allow enhanced joint working between London boroughs.
The body said that allowing councils to create combined authorities could help bolster a number of existing programmes where councils are already working together.
Partnerships such as the West London Alliance, Central London Forward and the Growth Boroughs already provide functions such as joint procurement, lobbying and policy development.
The capital’s Growth Deal proposals, which have been submitted to government, also propose devolving funding streams for employment support to sub-regional groupings of boroughs.
The officer report said: “Existing sub-regional working is largely delivered through partnerships set up as joint ventures, which allows a lead authority to employ teams or undertake procurement on behalf of partner boroughs.
“However, if more functions are to be carried out by borough groupings, then more robust structures may be needed.”
It said that combined authorities would allow funding and statutory functions to be devolved from Whitehall or other public bodies.
The government consultation into amending the scope of the combined authorities legislation, held earlier this summer, did not specifically raise the prospect of extending powers to London.
It did raise the possibility that councils with non-contiguous boundaries could form combined authorities, and that county councils could join them.
Separately, the Local Government Association has said that English regions should be given the same powers being offered to Scotland by Westminster parties seeking to avoid a “yes” vote in the country’s looming independence referendum.
LGA chairman David Sparks said: “These freedoms should not just be an exclusive privilege for one country in the union.
“New powers being offered to Scotland in the event of a ‘no’ vote must be given to every local area in England and Wales. The appetite for devolution does not stop at the border and the rest of the UK will not be content to settle for the status quo.
“Next week’s referendum marks a historic opportunity to revolutionise local government and the choices of the people we serve not just for Scotland, but throughout the UK.”