Strategic authority
| Strategic Authority | |
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| Map of the current strategic authorities in England | |
| Location | England |
| Number | 20 |
| Government |
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| This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
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UK General Elections in England
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A strategic authority is an overarching legal category of devolved public authority in England introduced by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 that receive certain devolved functions from the central government. Included in this category are the Greater London Authority (GLA), combined authorities (CAs), and combined county authorities (CCAs).[1]
There are three sub-categories of strategic authority in England:
A Foundation Strategic Authority is a strategic authority without an elected mayor - they receive limited devolved powers. These include:
- Combined foundation strategic authorities – any non-mayoral CA or CCA.
- Single foundation strategic authorities – a unitary authority or two-tier non-metropolitan county specially designated as a single foundation strategic authority by the government.[2] [1]
A Mayoral Strategic Authority is a strategic authority with an elected mayor - they receive greater devolved powers. These include mayoral CAs and CCAs.[2] [1]
An Established Mayoral Strategic Authority is a strategic authority that has had an elected mayor in place for at least 18 months and has satisfied additional governance requirements – they receive the greatest devolved powers; notably including the Integrated Settlement, which allows some devolved spending controls. These include the GLA and mayoral CAs and CCAs which have received government approval to become an established mayoral strategic authority.[2] [1] [3] [4]
History
[edit ]English Devolution Act
[edit ]In December 2024 the Starmer ministry published a white paper which provided that the GLA, CAs, and CCAs would all be designated as strategic authorities, which would have competence over transport and local infrastructure, skills and employment support, housing and strategic planning, economic development and regeneration, environment and climate change, health, wellbeing and public service reform, and public safety.[5]
Powers and functions
[edit ]
Strategic authorities are bodies corporate and are able to assume the role of an integrated transport authority and economic prosperity board. This gives the authority the power to exercise any function of its constituent councils that relates to economic development and regeneration, and any of the functions that are available to integrated transport authorities. For transport purposes, strategic authorities are able to borrow money and can levy their constituent authorities.
Their mayors are members of the Mayoral Council for England,[6] and of the UK-wide Council of the Nations and Regions,[7] both of which were established by the incoming Labour government in 2024.
Competencies
[edit ]The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 defines the competencies of strategic authorities as follows[8]
- transport and local infrastructure;
- skills and employment support;
- housing and strategic planning;
- economic development and regeneration;
- the environment and climate change;
- health, well-being and public service reform;
- public safety;
- culture; and
- rural affairs and coastal communities.
List of Strategic Authorities
[edit ]Sourced from [9] unless otherwise specified
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^a The government has named these strategic authorities as EMSAs, but as of May 2026[update] has not formally designed them as such in law.
The Great North
[edit ]In May 2025, eight strategic authority mayors from the North of England launched a partnership known as "The Great North". The partnership comprises 11 contiguous northern strategic authorities, eight of which are currently mayoral (Greater Manchester, Hull and East Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire) and three others (Cheshire and Warrington, Cumbria, Lancashire). The partnership, whose brand is based on the Great North Run, will lead trade missions and focus on pan-North investment propositions including hosting a Northern investment summit.[32] [33] [34] Transport in The Great North partnership area has been integrated under the statutory body Transport for the North since 2018.[35]
See also
[edit ]- Devolution in the United Kingdom
- History of local government in England
- Local government in England
- Mayoral Council for England
- Corporate Joint Committee, similar non-mayoral regional authorities in Wales
References
[edit ]- ^ a b c d "Devolution and local government reorganisation FAQs and glossary | Local Government Association". www.local.gov.uk. Retrieved 2026年05月23日.
- ^ a b c "English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill : Guidance". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026年05月22日.
- ^ "Integrated Settlement: policy document". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026年05月23日.
- ^ Baker, Ian (17 November 2025). "Driving devolution: integrated settlements signal all change for transport infrastructure funding". WSP. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
- ^ "Devolution White Paper: On-the-day factual briefing | Local Government Association".
- ^ "Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council". GOV.UK. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 2024年10月13日.
- ^ O'Grady, Sean (2024年10月11日). "How will the new Council of the Nations and Regions tackle power-sharing challenges?". The Independent. Retrieved 2024年10月13日.
- ^ "English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026: Section 2", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 2026 c. 23 (s. 2), retrieved 23 May 2026
- ^ "English devolution: Area factsheets". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2026年05月22日.
- ^ "ONS Population estimates – local authority based by five year age band [2020] via Nomis". Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017, art 1(2).
- ^ "The Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority Order 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Cumbria Combined Authority Order 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority Regulations 2025". legislation.gov.uk. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024". legislation.gov.uk. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Regulations 2025". legislation.gov.uk. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "Greater London Authority Act 1999". legislation.gov.uk. 11 November 1999. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011, art 1.
- ^ "The Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority Regulations 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2025". legislation.gov.uk. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Lancashire Combined County Authority Regulations 2025". legislation.gov.uk. 4 February 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ The Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority Order 2014, art 1.
- ^ "The North East Mayoral Combined Authority (Establishment and Functions) Order 2024". legislation.gov.uk. 20 March 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ The Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority Order 2014, art 1.
- ^ "The Sussex and Brighton Combined County Authority Regulations 2026". legislation.gov.uk. 25 March 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ The Tees Valley Combined Authority Order 2016, art 1.
- ^ "Contact" . Retrieved 7 April 2024.
- ^ The West Midlands Combined Authority Order 2016, art 1(2).
- ^ The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017, art 1(3).
- ^ The West Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2014, art 1(2).
- ^ "The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority Order 2023". legislation.gov.uk. 19 December 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
- ^ "The Great North unleashes new era of prosperity spearheaded by Northern Mayors". 19 May 2025. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ Tickell, Pamela (19 May 2025). "Northern mayors unveil investment partnership". BBC News . Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ Gibson, Sally (19 May 2025). "Northern Mayors partner up to form The Great North". Place North West. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ "Our Board". Transportforthenorth.com. Retrieved 7 June 2026.