Ukraine: Decentralisation Reforms

Lord Risby Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Grand Committee

Asked by

[Lord Risby]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of Ukraine’s decentralisation reforms; and what steps they are taking to support municipal partnerships as a contribution to Ukraine’s recovery, resilience and reconstruction.

[Lord Risby (Con)]

My Lords, I am most grateful to have secured this debate today. We are likely to be approaching a turning point in this war, and the situation requires us to consider how we can underpin Ukraine’s future and facilitate its European trajectory.

It was my role for the Opposition in the other place to take forward the legislation for the expansion of the European Union. At the time, there was here in London a particularly impressive Polish ambassador who spoke with great prescience. Several times he said to me that if we did not embrace the country immediately to Poland’s east, someone with very large claws would attempt to smother it. How tragically right history has proved him to be. Since February 2022, we have seen those claws at work, with the horrors of a full-scale war that is now raged against Ukraine. Having recently returned from a visit to Kyiv, and most specifically the Chernihiv region, which borders Belarus and Russia, I start by noting that resilience remains very strong.

Ukraine is now emerging as one of the most militarily experienced, innovative and resilient nations in the world today. I do not wish for this debate to be a continuing commentary about the military situation on the battlefield, for what struck me most powerfully was that when I met my counterparts, they did not wish to dwell on the war. They wanted to showcase their resilience but, most importantly, their plans for locally enabled, investment-based recovery. They wanted to speak not only of how Ukraine recovers and prospers but of how Ukraine can emerge, as I believe it will, as a significant global force for good in the years to come. It is in this spirit that I turn to decentralisation.

As the former chairman of the British Ukrainian society, I have long promoted the need for decentralisation, regarding it as fundamental to democratic empowerment and the elimination of corruption, and to accelerating Ukraine’s accession to the European Union and it embracing the wider European family. Before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine had already made progress in this regard, and we should not underestimate how the progress made between 2014 and 2022 in the creation and empowerment of regional and local municipalities was a defining factor in Ukraine’s ability to withstand this ghastly war over such a significant period of time.

We should now turn to supporting Ukraine’s desire to continue on its pathway to much greater decentralisation. This could become one of the great practical legacies of the 100-year partnership. Under Pillar 9 of that declaration, our two countries are committed to supporting

“deeper and more nationwide links between local and regional governments”.

I use this opportunity to pay particular tribute to Kent With Ukraine, an NGO with which I am proud to be associated. Under the voluntary leadership of Jordan Meade, that organisation has, in just two years, helped to secure significantly active partnerships, stemming from region-to-region partnerships and twinning at every other tier in the country. This voluntary work is to be commended; I am sure we will agree that the 100-year partnership must be enabled by government, but built up from the grass roots. I offer the Minister four practical suggestions on how we may take this forward and achieve it.

First, the Government could establish a live public register of UK-Ukraine local and regional partnerships. At present, the landscape is far too fragmented and council leaders are slow in wanting to pursue relations without clearer government endorsement. A register could help to identify gaps, match donors to need, give SMEs confidence to invest in local projects and, importantly, allow Parliament to scrutinise progress under Pillar 9.

Secondly, the Government could support the creation of a platform that links municipal twinning to practical reconstruction pipelines. A structured platform could enable communities to undertake real and practical projects. This would help Ukraine, but it could also create opportunities for British SMEs to secure investments and contracts for reconstruction, which in turn would create much-needed opportunities for local growth here at home.

Thirdly, the Government should consider creating a municipal aid corridor. That would make it easier and safer for councils and public bodies to donate surplus equipment to verified Ukrainian municipal recipients.

Finally, the Government might also consider establishing a dedicated local government fund that would enable local authorities in the UK to bid for modest one-off grants to empower businesses, schools, cultural organisations and community groups to take part in furthering the key objectives of Pillar 9.

The Ukrainians themselves want these relationships to be reciprocal. There is much we can learn from Ukraine’s local leaders, particularly around civil contingencies, emergency planning and resilience. Against the backdrop of local government reorganisation, Ukraine’s experience could be studied carefully here to reform and strengthen our own structures.

I turn briefly to the important matter of veterans’ reintegration. While in Kyiv, I was pleased to meet the deputy Minister of Veterans’ Affairs, and just yesterday I was pleased to host both the Minister and deputy Minister here in our Parliament to brief parliamentarians on the growing challenges around Ukraine’s veteran population. I mention this as veterans’ policy could become an excellent test case for a decentralised Ukraine. It could demonstrate the model of national standards and local delivery.

The Ukrainian state should set clear national entitlements, standards and safeguards for rehabilitation, mental health, transport and mobility, employment, housing adaptation, family support and disability rights. But delivery must be made locally, through the oblasts. I raise this in the hope that the Government will build decentralisation into future funding programmes for Ukraine.

In the classrooms that I visited in the far north-east of Ukraine, there are murals of this Parliament on the walls, which are used as a reference point for freedom and democracy. This should humble and inspire us all. In Ukraine, constant gratitude was expressed for Britain’s support, but the clear desire at all levels is for Britain to be an influential long-term partner. As the Minister knows, one of the great strengths of our Parliament is that Ukraine continues to be supported by all parties. That unity is noted and deeply appreciated; it is so important.

The challenge before us is to turn the 100-year partnership from declaration into enduring delivery. This will be better achieved if we enable a grass-roots approach to this endeavour and support Ukraine’s decentralisation as a key component in its recovery.