English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25
A briefing on the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25
The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill 2024-25 was introduced into the House of Commons on 10 July 2025. Second Reading is scheduled for 2 September 2025.
The bill, explanatory notes and associated documents are available on the bill’s page on the Parliamentary website.
The bill would standardise the structures of English devolution, with the intention of creating a new tier of ‘strategic authorities’ covering the whole of England.
The bill builds on three previous acts of Parliament: the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 and the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. It also makes amendments to the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Some clauses of the bill make identical amendments to the 2009 and 2023 Acts, and sometimes also the 1999 Act.
The bill sets out standard powers that will be available to ‘mayoral strategic authorities’. This term encompasses mayoral combined authorities and mayoral combined county authorities in England, and also the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The bill would reintroduce the supplementary vote system for mayors of mayoral strategic authorities, local authority mayors, and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs).
The bill also includes powers for the Secretary of State to mandate local government reorganisation, from a two-tier to a unitary pattern of local government.
The bill would introduce some additional changes to the governance of local authorities. The committee system, used for decision-making by some local authorities, will be phased out. No new local authority mayoralties will be permitted. Local authorities will be required to establish audit committees and new neighbourhood arrangements.
The bill would also extend the ‘community right to bid’ system to provide a community right to buy.
The bill would reform the local audit regime introduced by the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. A new Local Audit Office will be established.