English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 27th January 2026 Grand Committee

The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, raised many other valid points; for example, when a mayor resigns, everyone the mayor has appointed will lose their jobs immediately. It seems that the Government need to think a lot harder about the consequences of this quite revolutionary change to our model of local government. Quite a lot is not broken and does not need fixing, so I am very worried about how these new proposals will work out. I look forward to hearing what others have to say.

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, as I have said before, I wholeheartedly welcome the Bill. Before I speak to my Amendment 221, I will discuss this group more broadly. As my noble friend the Minister has demonstrated, local government is better placed than Whitehall to understand the possibilities of local regeneration and strategic planning; place-based regeneration that is owned and directed by local people; effective skills training for local high-GDP jobs in emerging local industries; industry relevance coupled with creative thinking; and creativity, which is the linking of ideas to technique. As my noble friend said, what is important is politics being done with communities, not to them. Every child should have access to quality green space, clean air and a creative education. Who can plan better the walking pram distance to a school than a local parent or carer?

Listening to the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, on spatial planning, my years as chair of economic development in Liverpool City Council came flooding back. I know that Liverpool City Region is looking forward to the opportunities of tourism tax, and indeed we should consider whether this will work and how it can go further. As the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, advocated so convincingly last week, devolution done well should and can build social cohesion and inclusion. I was very pleased to hear my noble friend the Minister say that culture may be considered as a competence.

Having represented combined local authorities in the European Parliament, I have had the pleasure of witnessing how devolved strategic government can mobilise regeneration, growth and job creation, and provide better access to public services, including affordable and—I hope—accessible green transport. The only way forward with hydrogen is green. I firmly believe that no city, town or rural community should be left behind, as has sadly been the case so far. We must afford these opportunities of well-audited devolution further and create an exchange of practice between regions and sub-regions to share learning, both on what is good and on where to avoid mistakes.

Amendment 221 is technical but also practical, widening the pool from which an elected mayor can appoint a deputy mayor. Current rules tightly limit who a regional mayor can appoint as deputy: only members of their cabinet, except for exceptional circumstances—that is, the leaders of the constituent local authorities. This new clause would amend Section 107C of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act, so that a mayor is no longer restricted to appointing a deputy mayor from among the leaders of the constituent local authority’s members of the combined or strategic authority, thus widening the pool both of choice, and, as others have said, expertise. Among the wide opportunities afforded by the Bill, I hope my noble friend the Minister will consider this.

[The Earl of Clancarty (CB)]

My Lords, I will be quite brief and will make a point of principle to start with. If something is important enough to be an additional area of competence, it should have a dedicated commissioner to go with it, which is in line with what the Government have done so far. I say that at the outset.

The noble Lord, Lord Bassam, has given us an intriguing, rather creative amendment in terms of flexibility, but I have a couple of concerns. I know that the noble Lord is an enlightened individual arts-wise, who I am sure would like to see—like me—the arts, culture and heritage thrive in the new strategic areas. But, as the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, and I pointed out last week in the debate on my Amendment 6, not all councils are quite so enlightened. Even if every mayor was conscientious enough today to ensure that their strategic authority did everything it could for the arts, culture and heritage—I say this simply as an example of an area of concern rather than competence—there is no guarantee that those who follow would have the same commitment unless there was a statutory commitment. This is very much in line with what the noble Baroness, Lady Willis of Summertown, was saying earlier. I very much support Amendment 51A in her name, and the other amendments that she proposed as well.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 20th January 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am in favour of all the amendments in this group, particularly Amendment 6, which I have co-signed. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, for introducing the amendment today and so eloquently expressing why it is so important to every strand of British life. Sitting next to a Lancastrian, it gives me great pleasure to extol the virtues of Yorkshire arts, creative industries, cultural services and heritage. I pause to give my best wishes, too, to the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, and wish her a speedy return to this place. Having broken my ankle, I know how irritating it is to be immobile, but you have to let nature take its course.

As the MP at the time, I was delighted to be patron of Thirsk Museum. Many noble Lords may not know that Thomas Lord came from Thirsk, so when you go to Lord’s, think of Thirsk. James Herriot was also a son of Thirsk and I pay tribute to his son and daughter, who are keeping his memory alive. The James Herriot museum is one of the most visited museums in Thirsk and North Yorkshire. We are also very lucky to have the more recent Rural Arts centre, which is very active and a great contribution to local culture and the local economy.

Will the Minister say whether it was an oversight that arts, creative industries, cultural services and heritage were omitted? Will she look favourably on this amendment to ensure that they are covered in the context of this Bill? This group of amendments is entirely complementary to later amendments that come in my name, and the names of the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, and the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. I support these amendments this afternoon.

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I am delighted to support the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, and the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty. I wholeheartedly welcome this Bill. I also wish my noble friend the Minister a happy birthday for yesterday. I was delighted to hear her cite examples of good practice from my old region, Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region, especially on clean energy. As a city councillor I represented the poorest ward in Liverpool, and as an MEP I had the privilege of representing over 40 north-west local authorities.

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill

Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 8th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I think I have just entered a parallel universe. The real clue to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill lies in its title. While I will touch on structures, my real interest in the Bill centres upon community empowerment. I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s commitment to devolution, and the Act will be the most significant step forward for a decade. The statement that powers and funding are the floor and not the ceiling of where we want to get to is most welcome.

The newly announced ability for metro mayors to implement the overnight visitor levy is another significant step forward and will help English cities such as Liverpool compete on a more equal footing for international events and visitors.

In my view, there is no one better placed to lead on the Bill than my noble friend the Minister. Having served as the leader of Stevenage Council from 2006 to 2022, she fully understands the complexities of different tiers of local government and is demonstrably committed to effective, devolved local governance and its truly important role in delivering quality public services as close as possible to the needs of local citizens, especially in deprived communities.

Having had the privilege of representing the north-west of England, with a population of 6.8 million and over 40 local authorities—including Stockport—I came from a region of largely unitaries, combined local authorities and city regions. When my mum got ill, I moved back to the West Midlands, where we currently have town, district and county local government. While we have excellent local councillors, many of whom I am proud to call my friends, it has taken me two years, with some experience of having been a local councillor in Liverpool myself, to truly decipher which layer of government is responsible for what.

I truly believe in the role of local government to understand the possibilities of local regeneration and strategic planning; effective landlord licensing schemes; unlocking resources in, for instance, pension schemes, to regenerate local communities and town and city centres; joined-up, affordable, accessible public transport; and, most importantly, understanding that physical regeneration alone does not work, but that it has to be accompanied by innovative training, apprenticeships and lifelong learning, to ensure that local people are equipped to maximise local job opportunities.

It also has to embrace a just transition to ensure that workers are equipped with the skills to move from declining industries to the high-GDP jobs in the emerging industries of the future. Every three year-old girl should be given the creative education to set her on the path to shape her own future. We know where growth is coming from: the creative industries and clean, green energy, for example. Who better to plan for growth than locally accountable strategic authorities?

I firmly believe that Manchester, for instance, is better placed to seize the opportunities for Manchester than Whitehall, and that having only national standards for taxis and private hire cannot work. Bury knows the needs of Bury rather than out of area licensing, which, in my view, should be stopped. There are more taxis licensed in Wolverhampton operating in Manchester than in Wolverhampton. This is potentially dangerous. I also strongly welcome the proposed creation of a strong local audit office to ensure effective delivery of local plans.

In the clean energy Bill in the EU, we proposed local energy communities to enable local people to plan and benefit from the creation and delivery of local energy. However, I say to the Minister that we argued that in order to be effective, these had to be resourced and financed.

My noble friend the Minister knows that a key challenge is how devolving funding and powers to neighbourhoods can really and effectively get local people involved. In my view, this requires resources. Accountability of any resourcing is key. We must also seize this opportunity to achieve the joined-up delivery of public services: politics being done with, not to communities.

We also have to embrace the fact that different areas are at different starting points and may need additional help. We must enable the exchange of good practice and support between regions. Before the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, we had the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, AGMA, so there was a history of the 10 local authorities working together and cofinancing innovative initiatives in culture, for example. Greater Manchester CA therefore had a head start. No such model existed in Merseyside. I am, however, very proud of how GMCA and Liverpool City Region have worked together to support one another. In resourcing, we have to be cognisant of different starting points and regional differences and needs, especially in rural communities. Having represented Liverpool, European Capital of Culture in 2008, I ask my noble friend the Minister to consider adding culture, creativity and heritage as defined areas of competence.

In strengthening our ties with partners in Europe, the role of elected mayors is key. Carlos Zorrinho, a newly elected mayor in Portugal with a proven track record of delivering digital skills, is working with mayors in the UK. I worked closely with the EU Covenant of Mayors but was acutely aware that while Manchester and Liverpool were prominent, Carlisle was not. How do we achieve a more level playing field? Using the Covenant of Mayors as a convenient consultation tool excluded swathes of my region. How do we achieve consultation that is profound and reaches all areas?

Having a lifelong commitment to local governance, I am delighted to welcome the objectives of the Bill. The question to my noble friend the Minister is how we work to achieve them.

Planning: Energy Efficiency and Fire Safety

Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe]

To ask His Majesty’s Government how they intend to work with regional mayors and local authority leaders to ensure that energy efficiency and fire safety measures are central to planning frameworks.

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and draw your attention to my register of interests.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Baroness Taylor of Stevenage) (Lab)]

My Lords, I welcome my noble friend’s expertise to help with some of these issues as we debate our planning for the future. She raises valid and important points. All new homes must comply with energy-efficiency and fire safety measures as set out in the building regulations, once planning permission has been obtained. While government does not comment on or routinely intervene in local authority decision-making, we trust our local councillors and local authorities to deliver local plans that carefully consider both energy efficiency and fire safety. As we move into the new era of strategic plans, I am sure that our mayors will take carbon reduction in new homes, and fire safety, as seriously as our councillors currently do.

[Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Lab)]

I sincerely thank my noble friend the Minister. Today, millions in the UK still live in buildings with unresolved fire issues, many of which are being targeted for retrofit under decarbonisation plans. For energy efficiency, the cheapest fuel is the fuel you do not use at all. Local leaders and regional mayors need a clear mandate and resources to ensure that fire safety is integrated into renovation and new build. From 2020 to today, there have been over 230 fires related to cladding alone. How will the Government ensure that fire risk assessments are mandatory for retrofit and new build and that planning frameworks are updated accordingly?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for making that point so powerfully. We all know how urgent this work is. Retrofit work in support of decarbonisation must comply with building regulations, including those concerning fire safety. As the regulations state, the building’s compliance should be no worse than it was before the work started. No additional measures are needed to ensure that fire safety is integrated into retrofit. Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, a fire risk assessment will be completed for all new builds, other than individual private homes. Building regulations require building control bodies to consult the local fire and rescue authority to ensure compliance with the order. There is a further requirement under the order for a responsible person to review the fire risk assessment for those premises where material changes, such as a significant retrofit, are made to the building in question.