Council chiefs across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are waiting to learn if proposals for devolution have met the Government’s statutory tests.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is expected to confirm later this month if the planned regional authority and elected mayoralty can continue to the next phase.
As part of the government’s priority programme, work is ongoing to create a new mayoral combined county authority (MCCA) for Hampshire and the Solent.
If all goes to plan, elections for the first regional mayor would take place in May next year. This individual would likely have responsibility for areas such as skills, transport and strategic planning, with funding and powers transferred down from Westminster.
MHCLG ran a public consultation, which closed in mid-April, on the devolution proposals.
The next stage involves ministers confirming if statutory tests have been met. If the tests have been met, it is expected that the government will confirm their intention to lay the relevant legislation for the new mayoral authority to be created.
A regional programme board has already been established, with representatives from the 4 upper-tier authorities (Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council) and 2 of the 11 districts.
The timeline for devolution in Hampshire and the Solent set out to councillors is as follows:
- Mid-late June 2025: MHCLG will confirm whether their statutory tests have been met and if they intend to pursue the laying of the relevant legislation to establish a mayoral authority.
- October 2025: The first release of mayoral capacity funding will take place once the statutory instrument has been laid in parliament.
- Early 2026: Councils need to submit assurance frameworks for review and the MCCA will be legally established.
- March 2026: The notice of election needs to have been called by this point for polling day to take place as planned.
- May 2026: The election for the first regional mayor of Hampshire and the Solent takes place.
The devolution process is separate from work ongoing around local government reorganisation (LGR).
The government’s national LGR plans are to end of the current two-tier structure through the creation of larger unitary authorities that deliver all council services.
Report: Jason Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter
This is bad for the island, very bad. Run from the mainland so we will never get the money needed to keep the island going. This council are bad enough, but this plan will be much much worse, stupid lying labour playing the boundry game.
We have already been removed, with no reference to the Isle of Wight, a county of England, vaguely referred to in the word “Solent”. Which is insulting in the extreme. Who were we? They are so besotted by acronyms that they could have at least used “IOW” somewhere to acknowledge us.
Utter codswallop. See the bigger picture. Government remains macroeconomic, we will be microeconomic. Look to the other devolved areas to see how it works. It simply removes the need for cap-in-hand allocation of money for various necessary services based on our needs, therefore the money we get otherwise from central government does not have be diverted to address those needs and away from the other things. And we get to decide what it needs to be spent on. Just because it will be a shared mayor (probably mainland) it does not stand to reason we would be ignored; it would mean that economically, they too would fail. No area can be left out because it would bring down the financial figures and they’d be hung out to dry as abject failures. This process across the UK will help raise us in terms of output, facilities and economic growth. At the moment we rank towards the bottom of the G7 countries in all areas, and that affects trade, and therefore cash in the bank to spend on the services the people need. Unless you’d like it ALL to come from taxation? Be careful what you wish for there….
Believe the lies. Your missing the fact, we won’t get our fair share of money. So how can we choose how to spend it. Gullible or what?
I never believe lies, or spin, I look for facts. Evidence based facts, there in black and white, with statistics and proof that it works. Greater Manchester is one who received one of the biggest increases in the country; their council tax yearly increase was exactly the same as ours and they get to decide what they spend it on, according to their specific needs. They as a region are doing very well, the fastest growing economic region in the UK.
Currently we get allocated X pounds to spend on X and have to appeal if it’s not enough. Generally the answer is no, so we have to take it from another pot and rob Peter to pay Paul. Most of the big ticket stuff (transport, education health etc) is ringfenced so we can’t borrow from those pots. Devolution means we can choose to invest in infrastructure, attract investment to the area and thereby generate extra income and revenue to spend as we please, and as this all includes all of Hampshire we will be able to share the pot that all of Hampshire is able to generate by their investments and economic growth.
You can guess where all the new housing will go…
Cheaper than paying for Hotel Accommodation.
Looks like the Island is finally becoming diverse.
This current lot have not achieved anything.
Crime is on the rise.
Speeding is rife.
Etc Etc
Time for devolution, move the island into the 21st
century, it’s been a dinosaur for too long.
Scrap the £2 nightly parking charge, even Pompey don’t
stoop that low!
Just look at the “devolved” decision on the Mountbatten Hospice funding to see what is coming..
Nothing to do with devolution, but of the ICB and NHS England, which is being disbanded imminently and absorbed into the Department of Health and Social Care. The money historically going to Mountbatten was on a contract, due to end this autumn, when new funding, minus excess admin to NHS England, will be re-allocated for next spring. IF we are a devolved area by then I highly doubt mainland concerns would trump ours; as I’ve said before, no area can be failed as it will in effect bring down the WHOLE area of Hampshire and Solent. At the moment if we fail it only affects us and historically, central governments have not cared, hence the ‘please can we have some more money?’ falling on deaf ears for the last 14 years. That included our local NHS, who part funded the Mountbatten Hospice.
People need to be realistic, the population of the island equates to a large town on the mainland, and while the island is unique it does not qualify for special treatment in any sense. Our council over the years has shown its ineptitude on so many occasions that if it was a private company it would have gone bust many times over. Time for a fresh start.
Well said. I could not have said it better myself.
Keep up the good work.
We don’t want a mayor, a complete waste of money, we want a local council on the Isle of Wight made up of candidates who LIVE on the island who know the island’s special needs.
We’ll still have a local council.
Just another pointless useless civil servants post. Just a total waste of taxpayers money.
No, will be offset by the PCC post going…plus all the expenses she incurred.