Regional Devolution: Funding

9. What steps her Department plans to take through local government changes to further devolve funding decisions to regions.

We will be giving mayors greater flexibility to deploy funding within integrated settlements, and mayors will also retain a share of business rates in place of Government grants from April 2027. We will replace further grants from central Government with a share of local income tax from 2028.

The Bakerloo extension line project would help to revitalise Catford, a town in my constituency. In fact, it would unlock thousands of new homes in the area. Will changes to regional funding allow the Mayor of London and the Greater London Authority to make decisions to back the Bakerloo line and progress the project?

I know my hon. Friend has been campaigning on this issue. She will be pleased to know that we are committed to empowering mayors, giving them further levers to invest in their communities and their areas, including through retaining a share of income tax. Further details will be set out as part of the fiscal devolution road map at the Budget. The Bakerloo extension line will be a decision for the GLA and Transport for London, and I will continue to work with them to support their work and future projects.

Labour has also said that it wants to devolve NHS funding. The NHS uses a standard metric of 2.4 additional patients for every new dwelling constructed. To give a practical example, in south Essex, the 63,000 homes envisaged in Basildon and Thurrock would mean 151,000 extra patients for Basildon hospital, which unfortunately is rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission and is part of a trust that is one of five in the country in intensive special measures because of poor management. In short, how on earth can Basildon hospital cope with 151,000 additional patients because of Labour’s housing targets when it can barely cope with the patients that it has at the moment?

That is probably a question best directed to health oral questions. The Government are committed to working with all areas as part of our devolution road map to ensure that authorities and health providers can deal with the devolution we have planned. I would be happy to meet with the right hon. Gentleman to discuss that further.

I allowed the question on the basis that it was about funding that follows housing growth, so I think it was fair. I call the shadow Minister.

With the Government having earlier today briefed the media that much of their devolution programme is being paused, with only Surrey looking like it is going to get its way—I am sure it is the subject of relentless lobbying by Labour Back Benchers—can the Minister tell us how many of the new mayors promised by this Government after their election will be in place by the next general election?

Following questions, the Secretary of State will be making a statement on that very issue, setting out what we will be doing in going further with local government reform and with mayors.

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

I welcome the Prime Minister’s indication that newly formed local authorities will not be forced to have a strategic mayor in order to benefit from devolution. However, the key to success will be ensuring real fiscal devolution to support and deliver services and economic growth for residents. Will the Minister set out how the Department will ensure that for non-mayoral strategic authorities, including the emerging foundation strategic authority in Surrey, where my constituency is based? How will she ensure that our area receives the financial resources to make meaningful funding decisions at a regional level, including by accessing funding streams currently available only to mayoral strategic authorities?

Our ambition is to ensure that everywhere in England has or is in the process of establishing a strategic authority by the end of 2027, and that strategic authorities are in place everywhere by the end of 2028. It is right that we will not impose mayors on areas that do not want one, but we consider directly accountable mayors the strongest form of governance, which is why they have a different set of available powers and money. I would be happy to discuss that further with the hon. Lady. We will be setting out more information about our plans for devolution in the coming months.