Welsh political leaders have called for the UK Government to ensure devolved nations are included in its plans for deeper regional devolution, but also for greater devolution to Wales nationally. 

Opening the Welsh Local Government Association's (WLGA) Annual Conference yesterday, WLGA Leader Anthony Hunt said further devolution of power can’t stop at Cardiff Bay. His comments reflect the views of many that a focus on national devolution to Wales risks not addressing the question of ensuring the regions of Wales are not left behind as compared to their counterparts in England..

First Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, sought to strike a balance between both messages. He emphasised that Wales was in a challenging financial position as next year’s devolved budget was lower in real terms, while the capital budget is set to fall every year until 2030. 

He wants to see Andy Burnham and himself “speak the same language on devolution”, with wider devolution of powers to Wales nationally thus ensuring that the Senedd and the Welsh devolution settlement is protected.  He also though recognised the key contributions local government makes to delivery to Welsh communities and acknowledged the need to consider regional devolution in the picture.

Discussing the way forward, Cabinet Minister Sian Gwenllian said Plaid Cymru had inherited a structure which included four Corporate Joint Committees – regional corporate bodies that help local authorities collaborate on issues including strategic planning, transport and economic wellbeing – but recognised the government needs to work with councils to ensure they are effective.  She emphasised the need for co-design with local authorities for regional delivery, again emphasising this is a Welsh Government role. 

Commenting on the conference speeches, Laura Hughes, Partner and Head of Public Law at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, said: “The devolved nations have consistently made it clear that England can’t be the only show in town when it comes to devolution if the UK Government is to achieve its mission of rebalancing our national economy, and address deep-seated regional inequality. 

“Key UK Government funding that previously flowed through city deals and similar mechanisms is increasingly being directed into English mayoral authorities. As none of the major cities in the devolved nations – whether it’s Cardiff, Swansea, Belfast or Edinburgh – have the same structure of elected mayors, they are at risk of not being able to access such funds at a time when Andy Burnham is promising to go further and faster in giving English mayors greater fiscal controls. 

“Equally, it can’t be the case that fiscal devolution is being discussed for regions in England, when such discussions appear off the table for the devolved nations even at a national level. There is clearly potentially a tension between the desire of the Burnham government to put power at the regional level, and the ambitions of the devolved nations for more power to be centred on their nations. Once devolved nations are given powers, it is a question for them about what they do with them, raising the possibility that the powers will not be used to support regional delivery.  

“It feels there must be a political solution possible that both achieves greater national devolution but also creates a credible mechanism by which those regions across the UK can access equivalent resources directly.

“While some believe Corporate Joint Committees haven’t worked as intended, they are very similar to the highly successful model of combined authorities and combined county authorities in England, which the Burnham government is keen to expand. CJCs do not have mayors, but Burnham’s recent announcement that Cornwall can access greater devolution without the need for a mayor shows what is possible with some slight changes in stance. 

“This suggests that with political will from both the Welsh and UK governments, along with a clear vision of what a CJC aims to achieve, this model could become the delivery vehicle for devolving further powers to regions within devolved nations.”