Devolution Priority Programme

The Devolution Priority Programme was announced by the UK government in 2025 in line with the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. The areas included within the programme will have certain devolved functions transferred to them from central government via the establishment of new combined authorities (CAs) or combined county authorities (CCAs).

History

In February 2025 six areas were announced for the programme. In December 2025, mayoral elections were delayed from 2026 to 2028 in four of the priority programme areas.

Summary

As of 6 June 2026, the status of the programme is as follows:

Authority Status Constituent councils LGR S.I. Created First election Ref.
Cheshire and Warrington CA Formally established, awaiting mayoral powers None Made 24 February 2026 2027
Cumbria CA Formally established, awaiting mayoral powers None Made 24 February 2026 2027
Greater Essex CCA Not yet formally established Yes Expected 2026 Expected 2028
Hampshire and the Solent CCA Formally established, awaiting mayoral powers Yes Made 4 June 2026 2028
Norfolk and Suffolk CCA Not yet formally established Yes Expected 2026 Expected 2028
Sussex and Brighton CCA Formally established, awaiting mayoral powers Yes Made 26 March 2026 2028

See also

References

  1. ↑ MacMakon, Jim; Rayner, Angela. "Devolution revolution: six areas to elect Mayors for first time". GOV.UK. UK Government. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 McKiernan, Jennifer (4 December 2025). "New mayoral elections to be delayed in four areas of England". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 Onsori, Zahra (27 February 2026). "Two strategic authorities formed". Local Government Chronicle (LGC). Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  4. ↑ Watterson, Kaleigh (25 February 2026). "Cheshire and Warrington combined authority comes into force". BBC News. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "The Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority Order 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  6. ↑ Jonny, Manning (24 February 2026). "Cumbria Combined Authority formally created by government". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "The Cumbria Combined Authority Order 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  8. ↑ "The Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority Regulations 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "The Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026.