Reforms are needed to ensure better decision making in mayoral combined authorities

Quicker decision-making at a local level won’t mean better decision-making unless the Labour government also strengthens capacity and accountability in combined authorities, warns a new Institute for Government report.

With progress on spatial development, housing and transport plans slowed or stopped by the requirement for unanimous or near-unanimous agreement among constituent councils of Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), Making England’s ‘devolution revolution’ a reality: How the government can support better decision making in mayoral combined authorities – published today – welcomes the government’s plan to follow the IfG’s recommendation of introducing simple majority voting.

But the report warns that the full benefits streamlined decision-making will only be felt if the Labour government introduces wider reforms to, and support for, decision-making processes in MCAs.

The report’s recommended reforms include:

• The government committing to at least doubling the mayoral capacity fund (currently £1million per MCA) to support in-house capacity.
• Combined authorities conducting a strategic review of staffing and exploring ways to share staff between the local authority and combined authority.
• The government supporting two-way secondments as part of a formal interchange programme in order to take full advantage of the benefits of the proposed secondment scheme.
• The government bringing forward plans to establish Devolved Public Accounts Committees (DPACs) for all existing mayoral combined authorities
• MCAs to embed participatory processes with members of the public, to inform policy making and support scrutiny of their plans.

Report author Rebecca McKee said:

“The government has ambitious plans for MCAs to support the growth mission, including a universal system of strategic planning, outlined in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill this week.

Changes to voting requirements for key strategic decisions in MCAs to remove the veto power of individual constituent councils will enable faster progress on key regional policies and projects. But faster decision-making doesn’t automatically mean better decision-making. A broader package of support for capacity and accountability needs to be implemented simultaneously to ensure effective decision-making and better policy outcomes.”