What is devolution?
Devolution is a process that aims to transfer more power and decision-making from the highest levels of national government down to local areas. The Government explained these plans in an English Devolution White Paper, published for the first time on 16 December 2024 and setting out what councils must do. To view the white paper, visit the GOV.UK website.
The current government has made devolution a priority and set out plans to create a new network of Strategic Authorities that will cover the whole of England by 2029. The new authorities will be led by elected mayors and will cover a number of local council areas.
The Government has set out that these Strategic Authorities should ideally have populations of at least 1.5 million people, though recognises that flexibility is required for populations in more rural areas such as Lincolnshire.
Strategic Authorities will have responsibilities linked to:
- Transport and local infrastructure
- Skills and employment
- Housing and strategic planning (not determining planning applications)
- Economic development and regeneration
- Environment and climate change
- Health and wellbeing
- Public safety
What is the devolution position in Lincolnshire?
In November 2023, the Conservative government agreed a mayoral devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire with Lincolnshire County Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and North Lincolnshire Council. The three councils voted to proceed with the deal in March 2024 and the new Labour government confirmed that it would proceed with the deal in September 2024.
The statutory instrument to create the combined county authority, the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Regulations 2025, was laid before parliament on 11 December 2024 and came into force on 5 February 2025.
The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) brings together three upper-tier local authorities; Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council.
GLCCA is the second combined county authority (CCA) to be established, after the East Midlands Combined County Authority was created in 2024. Unlike combined authorities, CCAs can be established in two-tier areas without the consent or formal involvement of district councils.
The mayor of Greater Lincolnshire chairs the GLCCA board. Each of the three upper-tier local authorities is a 'constituent member' and has two representatives with full voting rights.
The GLCCA board also has 'non-constituent members', without automatic voting rights, including one of the area’s two police and crime commissioners and four representatives, including one from North Kesteven, from the seven Lincolnshire district councils.
On 1 May 2025 Greater Lincolnshire elected Dame Andrea Jenkyns as its first mayor. The mayor leads the new combined county for the region. The mayor and combined county authority control a £24m annual investment fund. To learn more about the new combined authority, visit the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority website.