After the Bill - what further powers do places need?

Westminster politicians have just passed the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill into law but Liverpool and the wider city region has been on a devolution journey for the last decade or so.

We now have powers over public transport, skills, strategic planning and more. We’re using these to make a real difference, such as re-regulating bus services, setting up a development corporation to drive the further regeneration of North Liverpool and running programmes that help people into employment.

And the Government’s consultation on an overnight accommodation levy which we would use to take our burgeoning tourism sector to the next level is greatly welcomed.

Despite this, England remains one of the most centralised democracies in the western world, which is why the right to request further powers is an opportunity we and our colleagues at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority are determined to seize.

Why should we not have powers to create distinct policies that tackle issues in public health, as Scotland has done around alcohol and integrating health and social care? Imagine the difference we could make locally if Air Passenger Duty (APD) was devolved locally to support improvements at Liverpool John Lennon Airport?

Or if regional directors of education – responsible for improving school standards - were accountable to locally-based Combined Authorities rather than the Department for Education (DfE) in Whitehall.

On a practical level, we need better geographical and functional 'fit' with other parts of the public sector. The health needs of Cheshire are very different to those we face in Liverpool, yet both areas are part of the same Integrated Care Board (ICB).

And the geographical footprint of health neighbourhoods are not in sync with those of local authority wards or boundaries. We need this to be factored in as part of the Government’s review of police forces, because the needs of an urban constabulary are very different to those of a rural shire county.

Liverpool is proof that a large city can work with partners, within a City Region, to deliver for all of our communities. When we get the powers, the resources, and – most importantly – the trust, we can transform lives and places.

We have more than made the case - now we need Whitehall and Westminster to give us the tools we need to truly transform our communities.

Cllr Liam Robinson is Leader of Liverpool City Council