Appendix 1

Levelling Up Devolution Framework (2022): Three levels of devolution, with the greatest powers and the inclusion of a 30-year investment fund reserved for Level 3 deals requiring a directly elected Mayor/Leader. Deal areas “must have a combined population of at least 500,000”.

Level 1 (L1) - Local authorities working together across a Functioning Economic Area (FEA) or whole county area e.g. through a joint committee

- Strategic role in delivering services

- Host for Government functions best delivered at a strategic level involving more than one local authority e.g. Local Nature Recovery Strategies

- Opportunity to pool services at a strategic level

- Opportunity to adopt innovative local proposals to deliver action on climate change and the UK’s Net Zero targets

Level 2 (L2) – A single institution or County Council without a Directly Elected Mayor, across an FEA or whole county area

Above, plus:

- Supporting local business with LEP functions

- Some local control of sustainable transport, including ability to introduce bus franchising

- UK Shared Prosperity Fund planning and delivery at strategic level

- Devolution of Adult Education functions and the core Adult Education Budget & Providing input into Local Skills Improvement Plans

- Homes England compulsory purchase powers

- Clearly defined role in local resilience

Level 3 (L3) – A single institution or County Council with a directly elected mayor, across a FEA or whole county area:

· Directly Elected Mayor and Combined Authority or

· Directly Elected Leader of a County Council or

· Mayoral County Combined Authority (MCCA) which is an amended form of the Mayoral Combined Authority arrangement covering county areas where there are also neighbouring unitary local authorities.

Above, plus:

- New rail partnerships with Great British Railways

- Consolidation of existing core local transport funding

- Long term investment fund and brownfield funding

- Role in designing and delivering future contracted employment programmes.

- Ability to establish Mayoral Development Corporations

- Strategic partnerships with Homes England

- Mayoral control of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) functions where boundaries align

- Ability to introduce mayoral precept on council tax

- Ability to introduce supplement on business rates

Deals Agreed to Date: To date 22 devolution deals have been agreed (but not all ratified) with local areas. Some of these do not include Directly Elected Mayors, while other areas expect to elect mayors for the first time in 2025. Deals agreed since the publication of the February 2022 White Paper include:

Deal Area	Level	Date agreed with Govt (not all yet consulted on)
East Midlands	Level 3	August 2022
York & North Yorkshire	Level 3	August 2022
Norfolk	Level 3	December 2022
Suffolk	Level 3	December 2022
Greater Manchester	Trailblazer	March 2023
West Midlands	Trailblazer	March 2023
Cornwall	Level 2	November 2023
Greater Lincolnshire	Level 3	November 2023
Lancashire	Level 2	November 2023
Hull/East Yorkshire	Level 3	November 2023
North East	Level 3	December 2023
Devon and Torbay	Level 2	January 2024
Buckinghamshire	Level 2	March 2024
Warwickshire	Level 2	March 2024
Surrey	Level 2	March 2024