DI-VOLUTION: An essential guide to winning in a digitally transformed post-pandemic environment

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To enhance our democracy and to improve our economy we must empower towns, cities and regions and nations so that they can make decisions not just about their social priorities but about their economic renewal closer to home. There should be a constitutional requirement that the political, administrative and financial autonomy of local government should be respected by central government. The recently published Greater Manchester Population Health Plan update which shows significant health benefits for local residents following the devolution of health and social care. This includes a substantial increase in school readiness and a smoking prevalence rate falling twice as fast as the national average. The Northwest Territories (NWT) was governed from Ottawa from 1870 until the 1970s, except for the brief period between 1898 and 1905 when it was governed by an elected assembly. The Carrothers Commission was established in April 1963 by the government of Lester B. Pearson to examine the development of government in the NWT. It conducted surveys of opinion in the NWT in 1965 and 1966 and reported in 1966. Major recommendations included that the seat of government should be located in the territory. Yellowknife was selected as the territorial capital as a result. Transfer of many responsibilities from the federal government was recommended and carried out. This included responsibility for education, small business, public works, social services and local government. Since the report, the government of Northwest Territories has taken over responsibilities for several other programs and services including the delivery of health care, social services, education, administration of airports, and forestry management. The legislative jurisdiction of the territorial legislature is set out in section 16 of the Northwest Territories Act.

Our constitution should guarantee rights and ensure opportunities – offered by the UK to all its citizens so that all individuals in every place can benefit equally from our shared resources.Powers to control and administer public land with the right to use, sell or otherwise dispose of such land; and In Northern Ireland, our proposals can help restore and strengthen devolution, consistent with the principle of consent and the commitments of the Good Friday Agreement and at the same time, improve the prospects for economic growth and good employment prospects for the people of Northern Ireland. Our second set of recommendations ensures the right powers in the right places in England so that every town and city can take control of its economic future and have its fair share of resources to play its part in creating prosperity open to all.

The directly elected mayor is a member of the combined authority. The mayor has one vote, however combined authority legislation often requires the mayor’s vote is included in majorities in favour of a decision. As a result, the mayor has a veto over some of the authority’s decision-making and member authorities may not be able to make decisions in these instances. We recommend strengthening the powers that deliver self-government in the devolved nations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland – based on the principles that devolved self-government should be permanent, expansive, and each elected body held in equal esteem. When Covid hit, our faulty wiring was exposed – with central government and local government too often at odds with each other and local leaders rightly complaining that centrally imposed uniform decisions were not founded on an accurate understanding of local needs.When we should be unleashing the potential for growth and opportunity in every part of our country, the continuing over-concentration of power in Westminster and Whitehall is undermining our ability to deliver growth and prosperity for the whole country. In Wales, our proposals strengthen self-government for a new era, but we are mindful that the Welsh Government has set up an independent Commission to make recommendations on constitutional issues. We know that we can rely on the Welsh Labour Government to publish its Plan for Wales that employs to the full the powers of the Senedd and, at the same time, maximises the benefits from co-operation across the United Kingdom.