What devolution means for Portsmouth: opportunities, challenges, and next steps

Devolution has become a pressing issue as councils nationwide decide whether to adopt new proposals from the Labour government.

Local government in Hampshire

Hampshire currently operates under a two-tier system, alongside unitary authorities.

The two-tier system includes Hampshire County Council as the upper-tier authority and district and borough councils, such as Gosport, Fareham, and Havant, as the second tier.

Each tier has distinct responsibilities. The county council manages services like roads, transport, adult social care, and children's services, while district and borough councils handle areas such as housing, planning, and waste collection.

Unitary authorities, such as Portsmouth and Southampton city councils, oversee all local services.

What is devolution?

Devolution involves transferring powers from central government to local authorities, enabling them to make decisions and manage services directly affecting their communities.

It can include powers over transport, housing, education, healthcare, and local economic development.

Devolution proposals

On December 17, 2024, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government published its English Devolution White Paper, outlining plans for decentralising power.

The government proposes creating strategic authorities—areas with populations around 1.5m—led by directly elected mayors. These mayors could have authority over transport, housing growth, skills and employment, energy policy, as well as influence over investment and funding.

Local government reorganisation (LGR)

The government also plans to replace the two-tier system with larger unitary authorities by merging councils together. These new authorities would need populations of at least 500,000.

The white paper suggests this will result in "fewer politicians" and a more "effective state”.

For Portsmouth, this could mean joining neighbouring boroughs such as Fareham, Gosport, and Havant and potentially others.

Response and criticism

The council administration supports devolution if it focuses on the Solent geography, but the government has ruled this out, citing its failure to meet the 1.5m population requirement. Instead, the government favours a single strategic authority covering all of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Liberal Democrat leaders criticised this approach during a cabinet meeting, highlighting economic and cultural differences between the Solent and north Hampshire.

The white paper justifies replacing the two-tier system with larger unitary authorities to address failure and improve efficiency. Portsmouth leaders, however, questioned why their city, unlike other councils facing sustainability issues, is included in these proposals.

Government ministers argued that Portsmouth is too small to stand alone and must join LGR discussions. A council report countered this, noting that many smaller London boroughs and unitaries are not subject to LGR.

Next steps

Portsmouth and Southampton city councils, along with Hampshire County Council and Isle of Wight Council, have agreed to join the Devolution Priority Programme (DPP).

This DPP allows the authorities to negotiate their preferred reorganisation with the government and local partners, with a decision not expected until next autumn. If chosen for the DPP, public consultations are expected to launch in February 2025.