The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill has
received Royal Assent.
The Act will introduce new measures to expand devolution and
empower mayors and local people. A new Community Right to Buy
will give local people the first right of refusal for valued
community assets such as shops and community centres when they
are put up for sale.
Gambling Impact Assessments will be introduced to address the
proliferation of gambling shops on the high street, so
councils can prevent new gambling shops opening.
Upwards Only Rent Review clauses in new and renewal commercial
leases will also be banned, which previously prevented
businesses' rents from decreasing - even if the market rate
decreased - for new commercial rental agreements.
On the roads, the Act introduces new national
standards for taxi drivers, allowing enforcement officers to
suspend licences issued by other local authorities where a driver
is operating outside their licensed area.
More local transport authorities will be
given new powers to enforce against dangerous
pavement parking including through fixed penalty notices, and
there will be new licencing powers for rental e-bikes which will
allow local authorities to set specific requirements on parking,
safety, and accessibility standards.
Beyond making changes for communities and high streets, the Act
introduces ‘Strategic Authorities' into law, to make it quicker
to devolve powers out from Whitehall. Strategic Authorities
with elected Mayors will receive more devolved powers over
transport, planning, housing, and economic regeneration.
The Act also establishes Local Scrutiny Committees for mayoral
authorities, which will provide scrutiny of local public spending
and decision making.
Further measures in the Act include:
- Mandating Mayoral Strategic Authorities to develop local
growth plans, aligning regional economic strategies with national
policy.
- A new bespoke duty for Mayors and Strategic Authorities to
ensure they formally consider local health improvement and health
inequalities when making policy decisions.
- New powers for Mayors to intervene in planning
applications of potential strategic importance, make mayoral
development orders and charge
a mayoral community infrastructure levy
on developers.
- The establishment of the Local Audit Office to help
manage council finances, ensuring auditing is carried out more
efficiently and transparently.
