National Infrastructure Projects: Devolution

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Devolution and infrastructure reform definitely do not remove the role of local communities. For NSIPs, communities and local authorities continue to have opportunities to engage with projects and participate in the examination process. The Government continue to expect applicants for NSIPs, as well as local planning, to undertake meaningful and proportionate engagement. The reforms are about making engagement more effective, not removing it. The aim is to focus consultation on the issues that matter, avoid unnecessary process, and support better quality applications and decisions.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, West Mercia has a police commissioner but no mayor. That area of Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin—where I used to be the leader—Herefordshire and Worcestershire is known as a devolution desert. What is the Government’s plan for that particular area? Will we get a mayor or are we to carry on as we have for years?

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I am always very keen to hear the enthusiasm of friends in Shropshire for the devolution programme, which is moving ahead at pace. Achieving good growth in this country requires a fundamental rewiring of the way the country works and making sure that power that has been held in Westminster and Whitehall is returned to the people and the places where they live, work and invest. This Government’s ambition is to ensure that every area in England, including Shropshire, has or is in the process of establishing a strategic authority by the end of 2027, with strategic authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028.