To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Ukraine’s decentralisation reforms; and what steps they are taking to support municipal partnerships as a contribution to Ukraine’s recovery, resilience and reconstruction.
My Lords, I am most grateful to have secured this debate today. We are likely to be approaching a turning point in this war, and the situation requires us to consider how we can underpin Ukraine’s future and facilitate its European trajectory.
It was my role for the Opposition in the other place to take forward the legislation for the expansion of the European Union. At the time, there was here in London a particularly impressive Polish ambassador who spoke with great prescience. Several times he said to me that if we did not embrace the country immediately to Poland’s east, someone with very large claws would attempt to smother it. How tragically right history has proved him to be. Since February 2022, we have seen those claws at work, with the horrors of a full-scale war that is now raged against Ukraine. Having recently returned from a visit to Kyiv, and most specifically the Chernihiv region, which borders Belarus and Russia, I start by noting that resilience remains very strong.
Ukraine is now emerging as one of the most militarily experienced, innovative and resilient nations in the world today. I do not wish for this debate to be a continuing commentary about the military situation on the battlefield, for what struck me most powerfully was that when I met my counterparts, they did not wish to dwell on the war. They wanted to showcase their resilience but, most importantly, their plans for locally enabled, investment-based recovery. They wanted to speak not only of how Ukraine recovers and prospers but of how Ukraine can emerge, as I believe it will, as a significant global force for good in the years to come. It is in this spirit that I turn to decentralisation.
As the former chairman of the British Ukrainian society, I have long promoted the need for decentralisation, regarding it as fundamental to democratic empowerment and the elimination of corruption, and to accelerating Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and it embracing the wider European family. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had already made progress in this regard, and we should not underestimate how the progress made between 2014 and 2022 in the creation and empowerment of regional and local municipalities was a defining factor in Ukraine’s ability to withstand this ghastly war over such a significant period of time.
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Risby, on securing this important debate; I am only sorry that so few of us are in the Room for it. I also pay tribute to his long-standing commitment to Ukraine, which gives considerable weight and importance to everything he has said.
I spent many years in local government, including serving as the leader of a council and as a deputy mayor of London, so I thought I would come at this debate from a slightly different perspective. I have always believed in the importance of localism and the opportunities that come through decentralised decision-making. While it is of course up to the Government to establish national priorities, it is usually local government that ultimately determines how successfully those priorities are delivered on the ground. That is why the pathway to the decentralisation that Ukraine commenced back in 2014 must now be delivered on fully.
Despite the fact that Ukraine is literally fighting for its very existence, democratic local government continues to function across the overwhelming majority of the country. Where that is not possible, military administrations running in parallel in the cities provide the additional attention that is needed.
Through this system, local leaders across Ukraine, who are deserving of our admiration, have proven how decentralised decision-making has enabled local leaders to respond quickly and more humanely than any national Government could ever do. In many respects, from the continuation of education to the reconstruction of community assets and the maintenance of social services provision, local government has come to be one of Ukraine’s greatest strengths.
As we now rightfully turn our attention towards Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, I believe that there is an area where the United Kingdom can make a distinctive contribution through our experience. That area is, I suggest, public procurement. While I note that it might not sound as exciting as funding the latest AI-empowered systems or advanced warfare, anyone who has been involved in a local authority knows that ultimately sound procurement is the bedrock of efficient local government. British local authorities have accumulated decades of experience in commissioning services, running competitive tenders and ensuring proper financial oversight. We have learned over these decades, sometimes, unfortunately, the hard way, the formula of balancing speed and innovation with accountability and sound governance.
My Lords, first, I thank my noble friend Lord Risby for securing this valuable debate. Last week, in our debate on the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, my noble friend Lord Callanan noted that, while the war continues, it is right that we look to the future of Ukraine. I will not repeat our overall position on support for Ukraine, as my noble friend set it out very clearly last week, but the Official Opposition will always support the Government in backing Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. Across the House and across political divides, we must all work hard to maintain the consensus in support of the Ukrainian people.
As my noble friend Lord Risby mentioned, since 2014, the decentralisation process in Ukraine has progressed significantly, strengthening local self-governance and improving the Ukrainian state’s ability to deliver public services. That process has established local governments across Ukraine that retains more than half of the tax collected in their area. This means that more money stays in the communities where it is collected, and it should be spent to the benefit of local residents. Can the Minister say whether His Majesty’s Government are monitoring the impact of the reorganisation of government in Ukraine and its impact on the quality of the public services that are available to the Ukrainian people?
Support for Ukraine should not stop at funding and military training. Our strong tradition of democracy and effective local governance means that there may be relevant skills that we can share with Ukraine. Can the Minister say what conversations have taken place to ensure that we are making the local government expertise here in the UK available to Ukraine?
Although significant progress has been made, third parties report that there remain significant challenges around skills shortages in the Civil Service. What consideration have Ministers given to that? Are there steps that His Majesty’s Government can take, in concert with our international partners, to support Ukraine on the skills gaps it is experiencing within government?
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Risby, for securing this debate. I know that it has not been the biggest draw of the day, as far as Parliament is concerned, but the quality of the contributions has more than made up for that.
The noble Lord, Lord Risby, made some thoughtful suggestions based on his extensive experience of working in Ukraine. I promise him that we will continue to look at ways to work with our Ukrainian friends as part of our commitment set out in the 100-year partnership and that we will explore his various suggestions. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Udny-Lister, for his important contribution. Having a short debate is great because we can name each properly and not just say, “All those present”.
The illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia continues to cause immense pain and suffering. I absolutely accept the encouragement from the noble Lord, Lord Risby, not to focus on only conflict, but, last week, Russia launched around 500 drones and 70 missiles, aimed primarily at Kyiv, killing at least 30 civilians and injuring nearly 90. The scale of damage from more than four years of war is, of course, enormous. The latest World Bank assessment is that around $588 billion will be required for recovery and reconstruction over the next decade.
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Sitting suspended.
We should now turn to supporting Ukraine’s desire to continue on its pathway to much greater decentralisation. This could become one of the great practical legacies of the 100-year partnership. Under Pillar 9 of that declaration, our two countries are committed to supporting
“deeper and more nationwide links between local and regional governments”.
I use this opportunity to pay particular tribute to Kent With Ukraine, an NGO with which I am proud to be associated. Under the voluntary leadership of Jordan Meade, that organisation has, in just two years, helped to secure significantly active partnerships, stemming from region-to-region partnerships and twinning at every other tier in the country. This voluntary work is to be commended; I am sure we will agree that the 100-year partnership must be enabled by government, but built up from the grass roots. I offer the Minister four practical suggestions on how we may take this forward and achieve it.
First, the Government could establish a live public register of UK-Ukraine local and regional partnerships. At present, the landscape is far too fragmented and council leaders are slow in wanting to pursue relations without clearer government endorsement. A register could help to identify gaps, match donors to need, give SMEs confidence to invest in local projects and, importantly, allow Parliament to scrutinise progress under Pillar 9.
Secondly, the Government could support the creation of a platform that links municipal twinning to practical reconstruction pipelines. A structured platform could enable communities to undertake real and practical projects. This would help Ukraine, but it could also create opportunities for British SMEs to secure investments and contracts for reconstruction, which in turn would create much-needed opportunities for local growth here at home.
Thirdly, the Government should consider creating a municipal aid corridor. That would make it easier and safer for councils and public bodies to donate surplus equipment to verified Ukrainian municipal recipients.
Finally, the Government might also consider establishing a dedicated local government fund that would enable local authorities in the UK to bid for modest one-off grants to empower businesses, schools, cultural organisations and community groups to take part in furthering the key objectives of Pillar 9.
The Ukrainians themselves want these relationships to be reciprocal. There is much we can learn from Ukraine’s local leaders, particularly around civil contingencies, emergency planning and resilience. Against the backdrop of local government reorganisation, Ukraine’s experience could be studied carefully here to reform and strengthen our own structures.
I turn briefly to the important matter of veterans’ reintegration. While in Kyiv, I was pleased to meet the deputy Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, and just yesterday I was pleased to host both the Minister and deputy Minister here in our Parliament to brief parliamentarians on the growing challenges around Ukraine’s veteran population. I mention this as veterans’ policy could become an excellent test case for a decentralised Ukraine. It could demonstrate the model of national standards and local delivery.
The Ukrainian state should set clear national entitlements, standards and safeguards for rehabilitation, mental health, transport and mobility, employment, housing adaptation, family support and disability rights. But delivery must be made locally, through the oblasts. I raise this in the hope that the Government will build decentralisation into future funding programmes for Ukraine.
In the classrooms that I visited in the far north-east of Ukraine, there are murals of this Parliament on the walls, which are used as a reference point for freedom and democracy. This should humble and inspire us all. In Ukraine, constant gratitude was expressed for Britain’s support, but the clear desire at all levels is for Britain to be an influential long-term partner. As the Minister knows, one of the great strengths of our Parliament is that Ukraine continues to be supported by all parties. That unity is noted and deeply appreciated; it is so important.
The challenge before us is to turn the 100-year partnership from declaration into enduring delivery. This will be better achieved if we enable a grass-roots approach to this endeavour and support Ukraine’s decentralisation as a key component in its recovery.
Ukraine now faces the largest reconstruction programme seen anywhere in Europe, possibly even in the world, since the Second World War. It will require not only significant international investment but procurement systems capable of delivering thousands of projects simultaneously while ensuring international credibility, which is so important. I believe there is considerable scope for structured partnership between the procurement professionals of our local authorities and their Ukrainian counterparts. From strategic commissioning to supplier assurance, social value, fraud prevention and counter-corruption measures, local authorities have often learned the hard way but have developed the expertise that is the essential building block for attracting and securing long-term international investment, with investors being able to see that their money is being deployed correctly.
There is a security element in this too. We need to deploy our expertise in public sector procurement to ensure that rogue states and individuals are unable to secure any foothold in the critical national infrastructure and local utility projects that Ukraine is currently seeking international support to deliver. Will the Minister outline to the Committee what steps the Government are taking to export British local government procurement expertise to support Ukrainian municipalities as they prepare to manage billions of pounds in reconstruction funds? Have the Government considered the possibility of co-ordinating a UK-Ukraine local government procurement partnership? Building on the work of the City Ukraine Hub and the commitments contained in the UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership, I hope we are soon going to see the City of London play a leading role in strengthening Ukraine’s financial ecosystem. In the discussions I have had with Ukrainians, the message is always that they seek to have mutually beneficial relations.
There is also much that Britain can learn from Ukraine. I have been struck by the extraordinary speed with which Ukraine has restored national critical infrastructure, such as rail networks, bridges and utilities, under missile and drone attack. It slightly puts us to shame on projects such as High Speed 2 and the Lower Thames Crossing. While our circumstances are thankfully very different, I believe there are lessons. As we seek to accelerate housing delivery, modernise infrastructure and improve our public services, we should not be afraid to study how Ukraine has reduced bureaucracy, slashed waste and embraced innovation. Sometimes, those operating under the greatest pressure develop the most effective solutions, and local government would be foolish not to use our exceptional friendship with Ukraine to be radical in our approach to reforming our systems, both here and there.
As the Government embark on a significant programme of local government reorganisation—probably the biggest in decades—I hope that they will place far greater emphasis on civil contingencies and local resilience. Although much attention is rightly given to national defence, history reminds us that resilience begins in our communities. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has demonstrated how, when resilience and emergency planning are valued and managed effectively at a very local level, communities are able to withstand the most challenging circumstances. It would be good to know what lessons from Ukraine’s exceptional resilience models the Government are going to draw on as part of our own reviews.
My noble friend Lord Risby rightly commented on twinning. It is encouraging to see not only how many council leaders across the country have shown solidarity through establishing twinning relations but the practical differences that these hyper-local arrangements are having both for Ukrainian municipalities and our own communities. Many of these relationships are now in place. I am told that there is a desire to move these relationships well beyond traditional civic twinning to provide genuine partnership that shares expertise, supports SMEs in both the UK and Ukraine and utilises the provision of the FTA that we have in place.
Earlier this week, I was very pleased to meet the Minister and Deputy Minister for Veterans here in Parliament. It was so encouraging to hear about the efforts they are putting into ensuring not only that there is a world-leading rehabilitation programme in place but that the work that is under way will ensure the full economic reintegration of these veterans. As we all know, that is going to be critical for the future stability of Ukraine.
I conclude by saying that Britain has much to contribute through our experience of local government procurement, financial governance and local leadership. Equally, though, we should approach this with some humility, recognising that Ukraine’s resilience and remarkable pace of delivery has lessons for us. If we get this right and make the 100-year partnership more community-based, I have no doubt that both countries will emerge stronger.
The UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership, which was raised by my noble friend Lord Risby, is without question ambitious. However, ambition alone does not deliver results. Given that it is the intention of the Government for this partnership to ensure for a century, do the Government agree that Parliament should have greater opportunity to scrutinise delivery under each of the partnership’s pillars? In this spirit, will His Majesty’s Government commit to an annual report on the progress and expenditure incurred?
Today, we have spoken much about our local councils and the incredible work they are doing to stand by the people of Ukraine. However, reconstruction will require local economic recovery. It would, therefore, be helpful to understand what role His Majesty’s Government see for the British Chambers of Commerce, SMEs and local enterprise partnerships in supporting the effort to rebuild local economies across the region. Will His Majesty’s Government consider launching a UK-Ukraine 100 website and digital archive for successes under the UK-Ukraine 100 year partnership declaration? That would serve to showcase successes and inspire councils, schools, civil society groups and others to get involved.
The demonstrations that saw the fall of Yanukovych’s Government were fuelled by a collapse of trust in the Ukrainian Government. Those Ukrainians, who had such high hopes of a brighter future for Ukraine, have suffered much since then. We all share that hope for a brighter future, and we will work with the Government as they support this work. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.
Early recovery and development support are therefore critical if we are to prevent Ukraine falling into decline, poverty and instability. This is an agenda to which we are fully committed and, as the noble Earl, Lord Courtown, said, it is entirely cross-party. Through the UK’s historic and wide-ranging 100-year partnership with Ukraine, we are deepening relations across the social, cultural, education and trade sectors to ensure a more prosperous and secure long-term future for both our countries. The entire premise of having a 100-year partnership is so that it is all-encompassing.
Already 54,000 British and Ukrainian pupils are set to benefit from the school-twinning programme under the 100-year partnership. The suggestions from the noble Lord, Lord Risby, of a register of partnerships, a platform to link communities, a municipal aid corridor and a local government fund for grants to support partnerships were all excellent and implementable, and we will of course consider them thoroughly. Not all of them need the Government to do them. In the true nature of the spirit of entrepreneurship that you often find in local government in this country and in Ukraine, some of those things can happen in any case.
Democratic institutions, including Ukraine’s Parliament and civil society, will play a key role in Ukraine’s recovery. Co-operation between the Ukrainian Government, Parliament and civil society, along with international partners, will help to ensure Ukraine’s democratic resilience. Ukraine’s decentralisation reforms have strengthened the ability of local authorities to deliver public services, respond to crises and lead recovery efforts, even in the most challenging wartime conditions. Strong local government will remain essential to rebuilding communities, strengthening resilience and supporting Ukraine’s future Euro-Atlantic integration.
The UK recognises that recovery and reform must go hand in hand. Continued progress on governance, anti-corruption, judicial reform and decentralisation will help Ukraine attract investment, strengthen institutions and support its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Two weeks ago, the Foreign Secretary attended the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk alongside the Deputy Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. At the conference, the Foreign Secretary announced our package of bilateral assistance for 2026-27, worth almost £290 million, to bolster Ukraine’s recovery and energy security. We also announced a further $1 billion of fiscal support through the World Bank, demonstrating our long-term commitment to Ukraine’s reconstruction. The Deputy Prime Minister announced that £12 million of this package is for a new governance programme, including £2.4 million for anti-corruption initiatives.
The UK has consistently supported a recovery that is inclusive, accountable and, above all, led by Ukraine, with civil society playing a central role in shaping, supporting and scrutinising that recovery. However, we recognise that recovery cannot be delivered from Kyiv alone. Action at local and regional level was a core theme of this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference, recognising that local communities are best placed to identify priorities and lead reconstruction.
As the noble Lord, Lord Risby, said, Ukrainian civil society organisations were among the first to step forward after Russia’s full-scale invasion. They continue to support those most affected by the war, including the communities that are hardest to reach. This is where municipal partnerships can make a real difference. I completely agree with the argument that the noble Lord, Lord Udny-Lister, made. Like him, I have served in local government and learned a huge amount from that experience that I use every single day in my current role. It is these partnerships that help local authorities deliver better services, learn from each other’s experience and build the foundations for long-term recovery.
The UK is backing that approach in practice. The noble Earl, Lord Courtown, and the noble Lord, Lord Udny-Lister, asked how we are doing this. We are using our humanitarian assistance and resilience programme to strengthen the role of civil society and community groups in delivering support on the ground. Through the UK-led multi-donor Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine we directly strengthen local authorities in Ukraine’s front-line regions to ensure that local governments remain visible, responsible, and, most importantly, trusted by their local residents.
Through our social protection programme, SPIRIT, we are helping Ukraine move from emergency response into long-term recovery, supporting reform, strengthening social services and helping Ukrainian municipalities—I will just call them that—to work together to meet local needs. Working with UNICEF and the NGO ISAR Ednannia, we are supporting around 100 municipalities and 120 local providers. This support is leaving a lasting legacy, helping municipalities build the skills, partnerships and systems that they need to sustain recovery long after individual grants end.
The noble Earl, Lord Courtown, asked for regular reporting and suggested a platform to showcase work that is happening, which are excellent ideas. Let us see what we can take forward.
As we say every time we talk about Ukraine, the UK stands with Ukraine in its journey towards a just and lasting peace and in its efforts to rebuild. Ensuring that Ukraine emerges from this war as a stronger, more resilient, more prosperous country is just as important as supporting its defence today. Ukraine’s recovery will be built through not only international investments but strong institutions, empowered local communities and the determination of the Ukrainian people. The UK remains committed to that effort and to Ukraine for as long as it takes.