new report published by LTE Group has warned that, while devolution deals across England have the potential to transform regional economies, safeguards are needed to prevent parts of the country being left behind.
Four new devolution deals were announced last month as part of the Autumn Statement, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt arguing that the move would allow Metro Mayors to “fund and deliver solutions to their own challenges”. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also confirmed his intention to “put communities in control” by offering further powers to current and future Combined Authorities, should his party win the next General Election.
However, LTE Group research has highlighted a number of emerging risks in the devolution of post-16 skills policy and funding.
The ‘Skill Devolution: Putting Communities in Control?’ report warns that lower funding rates for less affluent regions – particularly those in the North – could undermine the aspirations behind the Levelling Up agenda.
The uplift applied to the national funding rate for the Adult Education Budget (AEB) in London and the West Midlands in 2022-23, for instance, was at least double that on offer in Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, while other Combined Authorities provided no uplift at all.
The report also argues that Combined Authorities should focus on commissioning provision rather than seeking to directly control it, and points out that while employers rightly have a major role to play in strategic skills planning, a wider range of social issues should be factored into the process.
The Autumn Statement confirmed new devolution deals for Cornwall, Hull and East Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Lincolnshire. With deals already in place in major urban areas such as the West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region and South Yorkshire, some 57% of England’s population will be covered by devolution by 2025. This represents substantial progress toward the government’s commitment to extend devolution across the whole of England by 2030.
John Thornhill, CEO of LTE Group, said: “As a national group of post-16 education and skills providers, we are proud to be working with regional and national policymakers across England to prepare the next generation of skilled employees for the workforce, driving the economic growth that regions across the country so badly need.
“Across England, Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are setting out the skills gaps and priority sectors where the pipelines must be strengthened. But there are issues to be ironed out. Providers are grappling with the challenge of how to achieve the high ambitions for skills provision they share with politicians and businesses, while ensuring that no parts of the country are left behind as a result of an increasingly fragmented policy environment – this, surely, would be the polar opposite of the aspirations behind the Levelling Up agenda.
