How the government can support better decision making in mayoral combined authorities

By May, over half of England’s population will live in an area covered by a metro mayor. The mayoral combined authorities (MCAs) they lead have already shown their capacity to take on responsibility for key local economic levers. But MCAs' voting requirements often demand unanimous or near-unanimous agreement among constituent councils, often slowing or even stopped progress on housing and transport plans, impeding mayors’ plans for economic development. 

Recognising these challenges, the government has proposed a move to simple majority voting – a recent Institute for Government recommendation – with the aim to streamline decision making and unblock development. But faster decision making doesn’t automatically mean better decision making. If the full intended benefits of this move are to be felt then the government needs to ensure it is made in combination with wider reform of, and support for, decision making in MCAs.

This paper makes a series of recommendations towards that broader package of reforms.

A briefing summarising the report's key findings is found below (PDF).