Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Dear Colleague letter on Introducing No10 North, of 1 September 2026, whether the policy of devolution by default will apply to requests for devolution by (a) principal local councils and (b) town and parish councils.

The Right to Request was introduced by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, and allows Mayors of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to submit requests for new powers and funding, and the Government then has six months to respond. This process is specific to the powers and funding for strategic authorities, and which levers over growth and public services need to be devolved down from Westminster and Whitehall.

As outlined in the Rewiring the State publication on 31 July, the Government will be working in partnership with local authorities and the community sector, alongside strategic authorities and other local partners, to develop our white paper on how the state will be rewired to ensure we are delivering good growth and public services in every postcode. Devolution is not just about transferring new powers to strategic authorities, and we are committed to strengthening the role of local authorities and communities across the country.