The Devolution Priority Programme (DPP)

What is the DPP?

The Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) is a government initiative to accelerate mayoral devolution in six areas with a ‘sensible geography’ and that meet certain eligibility criteria. ⁵² Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth, GOV.UK, 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ media/67ade9866e6c8d18118acd58/English_Devolution_White_Paper_Web_Accessible.pdf  The DPP was first announced in the English Devolution white paper in December 2024 as part of the government’s broader agenda to ‘complete the map’ of English devolution.  

Areas accepted onto the DPP were originally due to elect mayors in May 2026, though elections in all areas are now set to be delayed. In Cumbria, and Cheshire and Warrington the initial mayoral elections have been postponed to May 2027 following requests by local leaders to align the mayoral elections with local elections. ⁵³ McMahon J, ‘Devolution Priority Programme’, Written ministerial statement, 17 July 2025, https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-07-17/hcws848  In December 2025, the government unexpectedly announced that the inaugural mayoral elections in the other four areas on the DPP – Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton – would be delayed until 2028. ⁵⁴ Reed S, ‘Devolution Priority Programme’, Written ministerial statement, 4 December 2025, https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-12-04/hcws1128   

Unlike Cumbria, and Cheshire and Warrington, these four areas have two-tier local government and will undergo local government reorganisation (LGR), replacing two-tier local government with a single tier of unitary authorities, alongside the implementation of devolution.

Areas were invited to apply for the DPP in January 2025 and were assessed against a series of geography and governance principles. ⁵⁵ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth, GOV.UK, 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ media/67ade9866e6c8d18118acd58/English_Devolution_White_Paper_Web_Accessible.pdf

Which areas are included in the DPP?

Eleven areas applied for the DPP, ⁵⁶ Local Government Association, ‘Devolution deals’, retrieved 10 October 2025, https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/devolution/devolution-hub/devolution-deals  and in February 2025, the government announced that six had been accepted onto the programme: ⁵⁷ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, ‘Devolution revolution: six areas to elect Mayors for first time’, press release, 5 February 2025, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/devolution-revolution-six-areas-to-elect-mayors-for-first-time

• Cumbria
• Cheshire and Warrington
• Greater Essex
• Hampshire and the Solent
• Norfolk and Suffolk
• Sussex and Brighton 

Alongside the DPP, the government identified Surrey as a priority for LGR ahead of devolution ⁵⁸ McMahon J, ‘Local government reorganisation: invitation to local authorities in two-tier areas’, 5 February 2025, retrieved 10 October 2025, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-reorganisation-invitation-to-local-authorities-in-two-tier-areas/letter-surrey  and in October 2025, confirmed that it would replace its existing two-tier local government with two new unitary authorities in the east and west of the county. ⁵⁹ Reed S, ‘Letter to Leaders of Surrey Councils’, 28 October 2025, retrieved 30 October 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6900953eafec1781f779947a/surrey-lgr-secretary-of-state-letter-to-surrey-leaders.pdf

At the time the DPP was announced, the government also committed to work with Lancashire with a view to it potentially joining the DPP at a later date. ⁶⁰ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, ‘Devolution revolution: six areas to elect Mayors for first time’, press release, 5 February 2025, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/devolution-revolution-six-areas-to-elect-mayors-for-first-time  A governance review published in October 2025 confirmed that Lancashire would not join the DPP due to insufficient time to implement necessary legislation and align Lancashire with timescales for a mayoral election in 2026. ⁶¹ Lancashire Combined County Authority, ‘Governance Review’, October 2025, https://council.lancashire.gov.uk/documents/s265393/Appendix%20A.pdf

The six areas in the DPP represent almost a sixth of England’s population (15%). Establishing new mayoral strategic authorities in all these places will take the proportion of England’s population covered by mayoral devolution to 67%, and the proportion of its economy covered to 77%.  

Aside from publishing initial eligibility criteria, the government has not provided an explanation for why five areas that applied to be part of the programme – Kent and Medway, South Midlands, Wessex, Surrey, and Leicestershire – were not accepted onto the programme. The government chose not to disclose this information following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request into why the government had rejected the DPP application from Kent and Medway. ⁶² Local Government Chronicle, ‘MHCLG refuses to share devo priority programme rejection details’, 4 August 2025, retrieved 10 October 2025, https://www.lgcplus.com/politics/devolution-and-economic-growth/mhclg-refuses-to-share-devo-priority-programme-rejection-details-04-08-2025/

How are the mayoralties being established?

Under provisions in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill as introduced to Parliament, the secretary of state will have the power to direct areas to become strategic authorities. ⁷² Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth, GOV.UK, 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ media/67ade9866e6c8d18118acd58/English_Devolution_White_Paper_Web_Accessible.pdf  Until these provisions take effect, new mayoralties will be created using existing legislation, which requires the consent of all upper-tier councils within the regions in question. ⁷³ Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023

In two of the DPP areas – Cumbria, and Cheshire and Warrington – there is already a single tier of unitary local government. In these two cases, the unitary authorities will jointly form a mayoral combined authority (MCA).  

In the other four cases, two-tier local government covers at least part of the areas in question. In each of these cases, county councils and unitary authorities – but not district councils – will form a slightly different legal structure called a mayoral combined county authority (MCCA).  

In June 2025, ministers confirmed that each of the DPP areas had met key legal tests and could proceed with mayoral devolution. Subject to constituent councils’ agreement, orders will be laid before parliament to establish the new bodies.

Following the agreement of the constituent upper-tier authorities and the approval of both Houses of Parliament, the Cumbria Combined Authority and the Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority were established in February 2026. The statutory instrument to establish the Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority was approved by parliament in March 2026. The statutory instrument to establish the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority was laid in March 2026.

In Greater Essex, the three upper-tier authorities have yet to approve the necessary draft statutory instrument to establish the MCCA.

In February 2026, following the government’s decision to reverse election delays in 30 areas undergoing local government reorganisation, the leader of Norfolk County Council stated that the council “can no longer consent to the new statutory instrument that is necessary to set up our mayoral county combined authority in the months before our elections.” ⁷⁴ Murray J and Walker P, ‘Norfolk council leader pulls out of long-awaited devolution deal over election U-turn’, The Guardian, 17 February 2026, retrieved 24 February 2026, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/feb/17/council-leader-claims-local-authority-bullied-to-delay-polls-for-extra-funding-and-powers  In response, the government have stated that they “remain committed to working with all local partners on mayoral devolution in Norfolk and Suffolk”. ⁷⁵ Moseley P, ‘Minister 'bullied' council into election delay’, BBC News, 17 February 2026, retrieved 20 February 2026, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89ky8jqz45o

Why are some areas on the DPP also undergoing local government reorganisation (LGR)?

In the English Devolution white paper, the government set out plans for local government reorganisation (LGR) in “all two tier areas and smaller or failing unitary authorities”. ⁷⁶ Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, English Devolution White Paper: Power and partnership: Foundations for growth, GOV.UK, 2025, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/ media/67ade9866e6c8d18118acd58/English_Devolution_White_Paper_Web_Accessible.pdf  The four DPP areas that have two tier local government will therefore undergo LGR to replace existing local councils with unitary authorities.

Councils in the four areas were required to submit final proposals for LGR by 26 September 2025. 17 competing proposals were submitted across the four areas by different configurations of local authorities, reflecting local disagreement about the preferred number, size and shape of new unitary authorities. ⁷⁷ Local Government Information Unit, 'State of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR): the final Devolution Priority Programme (DPP) proposals', 2 October 2025, https://lgiu.org/publication/state-of-local-government-reorganisation-lgr-the-final-devolution-priority-programme-dpp-proposals/  Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, it fell to ministers to decide which options to proceed with. 

In March 2026, the government announced its decisions on which proposals to proceed with in three DPP areas: ⁷⁸ Reed S, ‘Local government reorganisation: statement made on 25 March 2026’, written statement, 25 March 2026, retrieved 1 April 2026, https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-03-25/hcws1455
•    In Greater Essex, five new unitary authorities will be created.
•    In Hampshire and the Solent, five new unitary authorities will be created.
•    In Norfolk and Suffolk, three new unitary authorities will be created in each of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Ministers have not yet decided on proposals for Sussex and Brighton “due to concerns regarding all four of the proposals” and have instead proposed a modified option for consultation. ⁷⁹ Reed S, ‘Local government reorganisation: statement made on 25 March 2026’, written statement, 25 March 2026, retrieved 1 April 2026, https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2026-03-25/hcws1455

What were the results of public consultations on devolution for DPP areas?

Following the announcement of the six areas included in the DPP, the government ran a public consultation for each area between February and April 2025. Respondents across all areas were asked seven questions about the benefits and governance arrangements of the proposed new strategic authority and could select one of the following responses: agree, neutral, disagree, don’t know, prefer not to say. A range of stakeholders responded, including members of the public, councils, academics, businesses and charities.  

Overall, there was a high level of support for the proposals from county councils across all areas but limited support from parish councils and the public. District councils are more supportive than parish councils, but have reservations regarding proposed governance arrangements and whether the proposed strategic authorities will support local communities and reflect local identities. 

Public respondents generally disagreed with the governance arrangements and potential for the proposed strategic authority to deliver benefits to the area. This was at its highest in Greater Essex where 71% of public respondents disagreed and at its lowest in Cumbria where 58% of respondents disagreed. Across all questions, public respondents in Greater Essex had more negative perceptions of the proposed new regional body than other areas on the DPP. Public respondents in Cumbria, and Cheshire and Warrington consistently had the most positive perceptions of the proposals.  

For all six DPP areas, public respondents were most positive about the potential for devolution to support the economy of an area and most negative about whether it would support the interests and needs of local communities and reflect local identities. 

However, the public responses represented a small proportion of the population of each area (0.16% - 0.34%) and there is a high risk of self-selection bias which often affects the results of public consultations. ⁸⁰ Cornwall Council, ‘Consultation Feedback Report’, Cornwall Council, March 2023, retrieved 1 October 2025, https://letstalk.cornwall.gov.uk/bigdeal