Strategic authority
Devolved public authority in England
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A strategic authority is a public body introduced as part of English devolution. In December 2024, the term was applied retrospectively to refer to existing devolved public authorities in England that had been created since 2000. Strategic authorities became statutory in 2026 as part of the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026.[2] Strategic authorities are categorised as foundation, mayoral, and established mayoral.[3] This indicates how developed they are as structures to receive devolved powers and funding. As of June 2026[update], there are twenty strategic authorities made up of thirteen combined authorities, six combined county authorities and the Greater London Authority. All strategic authorities outside Greater London were voluntarily established by their constituent councils. All but foundation strategic authorities have a strategic authority mayor.
| Strategic authority | |
|---|---|
| |
| Category |
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| Location | England |
| Number | 20 |
| Possible types | |
| Government |
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History
Greater London Authority
The first strategic authority was the Greater London Authority made up of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly that was established in 2000.[4]
Combined authorities and combined county authorities
The opportunity to create a "combined authority" was established by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. In 2010, the Government accepted a proposal from the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities to establish a Greater Manchester Combined Authority, using the powers of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, as an indirectly elected top-tier strategic authority for Greater Manchester.[5] It was created on 1 April 2011. The Localism Act 2011 allowed additional transfers of powers from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and gave combined authorities a general power of competence.[6]
By 2016 combined authorities had been created covering all of the metropolitan counties which include conurbations of the largest cities outside London.[a] In 2016 and 2017, combined authorities started to be created for smaller city regions.[b] Any principal council can become a constituent member of a combined authority.
The Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduced a similar type of strategic authority outside Greater London, the "combined county authority". The key difference is that these authorities must include the whole area of one or more two-tier non-metropolitan counties. They may also include unitary authorities, but two-tier non-metropolitan districts cannot be constituent members.[7][c]
Since 2023 combined (county) authorities are being created for more rural areas.[d]
English devolution act
In December 2024 the Starmer ministry published a white paper which proposed that the Greater London Authority, combined authorities (CAs), and combined county authorities (CCAs) would be designated as strategic authorities. These authorities would have competence over transport and local infrastructure, skills and employment support, housing and strategic planning, economic development and regeneration, environment and climate change, health, wellbeing and public service reform, and public safety. The government said it intended to "complete the map" of devolution so every part of England would be covered by one strategic authority and one principal council.[2][8][9][e]
Categories
There are three categories of strategic authority in England:[10][9]
| Category | Description | Example | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Without an elected mayor. They receive basic devolved powers.[f] | Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority[g] | [11][12][13] |
| Mayoral | With an elected mayor. They receive greater devolved powers. | York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority[h] | [11][12] |
| Established mayoral | With an elected mayor in place for at least 18 months and has satisfied additional governance requirements. They receive the greatest devolved powers, notably including the Integrated Settlement, which allows more flexibility of devolved spending. | Greater Manchester Combined Authority[i] | [11][12][14][15] |
Powers and functions
Current
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 defines the competencies of strategic authorities as follows[16][17][9]
- transport and local infrastructure, including the production of local transport plans
- skills and employment support
- housing
- strategic planning including the production of spatial development strategies[18]
- economic development and regeneration
- the environment and climate change
- health and well-being
- public service reform
- public safety
- culture
- rural affairs and coastal communities
Upcoming
- proportion of income tax (Apr 2028)
- proportion of business rates (Apr 2027)[j]
Areas
The strategic authority areas[20] are the geographic areas of England, made up of one or more local government area, with a strategic authority in place. These are commonly known as devolved areas, combined authority areas, areas, city regions or regions.[21][22][23][24][25]
The Greater London strategic authority area is coterminous with the London region. Outside of Greater London, the strategic authority areas are not to be confused with the geographically larger regions of England which are statistical areas that each had a regional development agency until 2012.[12] For example, the North East England region is covered by two strategic authority areas: North East and Tees Valley. As of June 2026[update], strategic authority areas cover all of northern England and some parts of the rest of England. A majority of strategic authority areas are coterminous with one or two of the ceremonial counties of England.
List of strategic authorities
As of June 2026[update], there are twenty strategic authorities which consist of 2 foundation, 7 mayoral and 11 established[1]:
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Partnership and cooperation
Where strategic authorities have mayors, they are members of the Mayoral Council for England,[48], the National Economic Council, and of the UK-wide Council of the Nations and Regions,[49] both of which were established by the incoming Labour government in 2024.
The Great North
In May 2025, eight strategic authority mayors from the North of England launched a partnership known as "The Great North". The partnership comprises 11 contiguous northern strategic authorities, eight of which are currently mayoral (Greater Manchester, Hull and East Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire) and three others (Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Lancashire). The partnership, whose brand is based on the Great North Run, will lead trade missions and focus on pan-North investment propositions including hosting a Northern investment summit.[50][51][52] Transport in The Great North partnership area has been integrated under the statutory body Transport for the North since 2018.
International relations
Representation in intergovernmental organisations
Some of the strategic authorities of England are represented internationally.
The mayor of London is responsible for the Greater London Authority's international relations.[53] The London Assembly nominates one member to the Chamber of Regions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.[54] The Greater London Authority is an associate member of Eurocities and a member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.[55]
Within the United Kingdom, strategic authority mayors represent their regions on the Council of Nations and Regions.[56]
Missions
The Greater London Authority maintains a representative office in Brussels.[57]
See also
- Strategic authority mayor
- Devolution in England
- History of local government in England
- Local government in England
- Mayoral Council for England
- Corporate Joint Committee, a joint committee of two or more local authorities in Wales
- Upcoming structural changes to local government in England
Notes
- These combined authorities were Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and the West Midlands.
- These combined authorities were Tees Valley, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and the West of England.
- The combined (county) authorities created since 2023 are York and North Yorkshire, East Midlands, Devon and Torbay, Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Sussex and Brighton, and Hampshire and the Solent.
- Separately proposed was that the remaining parts of England with two-tier local government would be reorganised into unitary authorities
- There are two sub-categories of foundation strategic authority. Combined foundation strategic authorities are any combined (county) authority without a mayor and single foundation strategic authorities are a single unitary authority or county council specially designated by the government.