Neil McInroyChief Executive

Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Devolution and social sector role10th March 2015

What i CLES?

Independent charity

Economic development but with social fairness and within limits of environment

Publishers:

Established 1985Planners, geographers, local government, environmental scientists, economists

Hybrid; research, consultancy, members

Leading UK member org for research into Economic development

About CLES

Drivers of Devolution

Prof Michael Parkinson: ‘19th Century government, 20th century boundaries to run 21st century economy’

Economic growth (in England Large cities)

to decentralise decisions, may de-concentrate investment?

Public sector reform

Austerity/cuts

Scotland

A sense democracy needs renewing

Politically important to do something for ‘the north’

What has happened?Merely acceleration of growth deals and city deals?

GTR Manchester ‘devo manc’ - Housing, Skills, Employability, Infrastructure, Transport, Business Support, some Planning and now democratic oversight over Health Budgets.

Is this exception or the new rule of thumb?

Sheffield has some housing, transport and skills

Liverpool want skills, employability, housing and public land

No fiscal devolution

Much hyperbole and spin?

The type of devolution we are getting?Asymmetrical, Haphazard and chaotic.

Different speeds with winners and losers?

Not concerned with national inefficiencies or fairness

City states. Do we want that?

No national constitutional settlement. We need one!

Very little/no new money. Repatriation of some of Whitehall’s. They can reduce the purse?

Is it mostly about managing cuts or is a new English social contract being built? Or both?

Devolution is just a means to an end, It ain’t the end.

We are in the foothills

Little on democratic renewal, role of civil society, social sector role

Focus on economic growth not fairness, inequality or poverty

Is this about social justice, dealing with inequality?

No welfare or employment policy –The social inputs to a ‘good economy’

Co-production??

Questions for devolution agenda

What kind of England do WE want and what type of government do we want to get there?

Is this Devolution merely following a treasury/neo classical model and nationally inequalities will be just exacerbated locally?

How do we maintain national fairness (especially if some fiscal decentralisation occurs)?

How do we involve citizens, business, Social sector- recipients or players?

We are in a transition phase

Public services and Welfare provision is struggling all over the world

Increasing demand and how to pay and deliver it

Devolution is part of this. But its avoiding the big questions

A new social contract is being built around us

New relationship between state, public services and citizens

Low down in devolution agenda

There will be commissioning at city regional level

But limited new opportunities given further cuts planned

Maybe more preventative upstream work

Need to fight for new local ‘democratic deal’,

Seats at tables and part of creating a new local social contract

The challenge for social sector

Centre for Local Economic Strategies

Email. neilmcinroy@cles.org.uk

Website. www.cles.org.uk

Magazine.

Twitter. @nmcinroy or @clestweet or @newstartmag

Phone. (0044) 161 236 7036