23 March 2016 Briefing: Lincolnshire Devolution Agreement Summary of key points: The Lincolnshire devolution deal was announced in the Budget on 16 March. This paper outlines the key aspects of interest to housing associations that are working in the proposed combined authority area: There is a commitment to an additional 15m investment per year for 30 years for growth and infrastructure. A mayor will be elected in May 2017, with interim arrangements throughout 2016/17. The elected mayor will have a number of powers to promote growth, including a joint assets board and spatial planning. Other areas of interest in the agreement include transport, skills, flood resilience coordinated work on crime and justice, tackling unemployment and integration of health and care.
1. Introduction The Lincolnshire Devolution Agreement was published following the Budget on 16 March and the full document can be found on the Government s website. The headline investment figures are for infrastructure, growth and housing. This briefing covers these, as well as some background to the deal, information about the proposed governance of the combined authority and other aspects of the devolution agreement relevant to housing associations. For more general information about devolution deals across the country please see the Federation s Snapshot on Devolution briefing. 2. Executive summary This devolution agreement, which covers all the county, unitary, district and borough councils in Lincolnshire as well as the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), sets out the responsibilities and powers of a new combined authority and elected mayor. Infrastructure and housing investment are central to the agreement providing housing associations with opportunities for development. Headline aspects of delivery include: 15m a year for 30 years for infrastructure and growth A target of 25,000 homes delivered by 2021. Powers and responsibilities for spatial planning, identifying and developing land and promoting growth Additional powers around education and skills, transport investment and employment initiatives Leadership roles in partnerships on health and social care, flood prevention and public sector reform
3. Background and timetable This devolution agreement represents the coming together of local authority and LEP partners across Lincolnshire, covering 10 local authorities across the county. All the constituent councils have to formally ratify the agreement, but there is no clear deadline for this. Wider partnerships are also mentioned in the document including reference to neighbouring LEPs, with the Department for Work and Pensions (the DWP) and across the criminal justice system. Initial deadlines for the combined authority: By July 2016 business plan to show how accelerated housing delivery will be achieved By September 2016 a strategic infrastructure delivery plan to include 100m from devolution partners to secure housing delivery May 2017 mayoral elections End of 2017 all councils to have published/adopted a local plan 4. Key aspects of the devolution agreement The devolution agreement covers Governance arrangements for the combined authority and the role of the mayor Finance and funding Housing and planning Transport Water and flood defence Skills, education and employment Business support Health Public sector transformation, including shared commissioning within criminal justice provision. This briefing covers the main headlines of interest to housing associations in particular on housing, planning, funding and governance. It also highlights some opportunities for housing associations in terms of skills, employment, health and care, and flood resilience.
4.1 Governance of the combined authority A mayor will be elected in May 2017 to lead the combined authority. No powers will transfer from existing authorities to the combined authority without their agreement. There is no detail in the agreement about the size or make-up of the combined authority, but there will a cabinet system and a scrutiny committee. Decisions by the combined authority will be made by majority vote, where the mayor has one vote, the same as other voting members. However for the mayor s transport plan, there will need to be a two thirds majority which includes all three upper tier authorities (Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council). A two-thirds majority within the combined authority can also reject other mayoral proposals. The mayor will be a member of the LEP and the chair of the LEP will be a non-constituent member of the combined authority. The mayor will have the following devolved powers: Responsibility for multi-year consolidated transport budget and ability to franchise bus services Responsibility for management of key route road network Strategic planning and housing powers, responsibilities for joint assets board, and ability to establish development corporations. The wider combined authority will have the following powers and responsibilities: Control of 450m 30-year growth funding allocation Responsibility for a strategic infrastructure delivery plan Responsibility to build more houses at pace to achieve 100,000 homes over local plan periods Responsibility for reviewing 16+skills provision and 19+ adult skills funding Joint responsibility with the DWP to co-design the new National Work and Health Programme To work with the Government and criminal justice partners on commissioning services, and supporting rehabilitation To work with the Greater Lincolnshire LEP s Water Management Plan.
4.2 Housing, land and planning Housing delivery is a central part of the devolution deal. The combined authority must produce a business plan by July showing how they will deliver 25,000 homes by 2021 and 100,000 homes over the local plan periods. On planning, the mayor will work with the combined authority on a strategic planning spatial framework for the whole area which will have to be approved by unanimous vote within the combined authority and must not delay existing local plan production. The mayor will also be consulted on strategic planning applications and may create supplementary planning documents. Mayoral development corporations may also be set up to deliver strategic sites. The combined authority will establish a joint investment assets board along the lines of the One Public Estate programme which will include senior government representatives. The agreement also sets out some specific ways in which the combined authority will work with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to deliver housing, including HCA support for large sites, joint work on delivering starter homes and collaboration on streamlining planning. A strategic infrastructure delivery plan will be drawn up by September 2016, to which partners in Greater Lincolnshire will commit at least 100m of their own investment. The stated aim of the infrastructure plan is to deliver homes. All council areas within the combined authority have committed to adopting or publishing a local plan by 2017 which reflects local housing need. 4.3 Infrastructure investment At the heart of the devolution agreement is an allocation of 450m over 30 years for growth, and which is conditional on the governance provided by the combined authority and elected mayor. This investment of 15m per year for 30 years will be 75% capital and 25% revenue, and held in a single pot managed by the combined authority. The agreement sets out expectations that the combined authority will invest in infrastructure to deliver homes and drive economic growth. The combined authority will be required to demonstrate how the investment contributes to national growth and justify to the Government the value for money of prioritising certain investments over others, based on methodology set out in the HM Treasury Green Book.
The combined authority will be granted funding flexibilities (not yet identified) and also have the right to increase business rates, up to a fixed maximum level, subject to the agreement of the LEP. There are proposals to make the combined authority an intermediate body for the management of European Union funding, including European Social Fund, European Regional Development Fund and European Agricultural Growth Fund for Rural Development. 4.3 Other aspects relevant to housing associations Work, skills, apprenticeships and employment Opportunities may exist in this agreement for housing associations to influence employment initiatives, benefit from the combined authority s responsibility for apprenticeship grant for employers and improve life chances through bringing together health, skills and employment across the public and third sectors. There is provision in the agreement for the combined authority to work with the DWP to co-design the new Health & Work Programme for people with disabilities, health problems and those who are experiencing long term unemployment. Indeed, there is a big focus in the document on the need to increase skills, inward investment, business support and employability. The agreement proposes greater integration of services between JobCentre Plus, the DWP and the combined authority. Public protection and service transformation There is an emphasis in the agreement on substantial joint working between the mayor, combined authority, Police & Crime Commissioner, Fire Service and other partners including prison governors. This includes a number of new commissioning approaches for people serving short sentences and community sentences. There are potential opportunities for housing associations to be part of a supply chain around accommodation and support to offenders, offering rehabilitation and skills training. Flood defence and resilience The agreement notes that 40% of Lincolnshire is at risk of coastal and fluvial flooding and emphasises the strategic role of the combined authority in water management. There is also an ambition to attract private funding and business investment to this theme, and to extend Internal Drainage Board boundaries, including levy raising powers across a wider area.
Health and Social Care The devolution agreement identifies a commitment to increase the integration of health and social care by 2020. There is reference to working with the NHS but no sharing of NHS responsibilities or budgets which will remain outside the agreement. The desire to improve integration is welcome but there are no clear targets in this area so it remains to be seen what priority it is given by the incoming mayor and combined authority members. Transport investment The combined authority will have substantial responsibilities across road, rail and bus strategies and investment. These in turn will drive the availability of strategic housing sites. There is a strong commitment to improve connectivity across the devolution area. 5. The Federation's views The devolution deal commits the Lincolnshire combined authority area to delivering a step change in housing growth. To develop a clear vision and strategy to deliver the right homes in the right places, the combined authority will need to work with housing associations in the area that are willing and able to put in place ambitious delivery programmes. The combined authority and elected mayor will have significant influence over planning, infrastructure, housing and investment. Where this is strong leadership and a vision for change that is developed collaboratively with partners, greater devolution has the potential to transform an area by bringing decision making and investment much closer to local priorities. Taking a localised approach to housing delivery, strategic planning, and land availability, and linking this across to issues of employment and regeneration is crucial to creating places where people want to live and work. For housing associations, devolution presents opportunities to showcase their unique offer. Devolution isn t just about housing growth, it s also about the wider public sector reform agenda with key themes of health and social care integration and employment and skills presenting opportunities for housing associations to demonstrate the breadth of their offer.
6. Conclusion The initial agreement of a devolution deal between the Government and the emerging Lincolnshire combined authority should be seen as the start of a major devolution process. As has been seen in other areas, there will be further developments in terms of investment, responsibilities, partnerships and politics in future. Housing associations have a unique opportunity to engage with the emerging structures to ensure that they are seen as key partners in the next stages of the devolution process. The National Housing Federation will continue to update its members on the emerging devolution arrangements. 7. Further information Kate Warburton, External Affairs Manager, 07919 110536, or kate.warburton@housing.org.uk