The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution met with Leaders from Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, and Warrington Councils on 3 September to discuss next steps for devolution in the area.

The government will continue to work closely with the area to agree a way forward to deliver an ambitious devolution agreement for Cheshire and Warrington.

This government believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined authorities supported by a mayor with a strategic role across a wider geography, working closely with council leaders.

The English Devolution White Paper will set an ambitious new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best.

I met with Leaders from Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, and Warrington Councils on 3 September to discuss next steps for devolution in the area.

The government will continue to work closely with the area to agree a way forward to deliver an ambitious devolution agreement for Cheshire and Warrington.

This government believes that the benefits of devolution are best achieved through the establishment of combined authorities supported by a mayor with a strategic role across a wider geography, working closely with council leaders.

The English Devolution White Paper will set an ambitious new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best.

The Government is committed to extending devolution across England and seeing more empowered and accountable local leaders who can drive growth, innovate, and respond to the specific challenges and needs of their areas. I met with local leaders from across Cheshire and Warrington to discuss their devolution ambitions for the region. Details of ministerial meetings are published on gov.uk.

The Government remains committed to further extending devolution across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to roll out new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are already underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a real voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech his ambitions for Cheshire and Warrington. I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following recent local elections.

The Government remains committed to extending and deepening devolution further across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to establish and grow new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already playing a powerful role in driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech that Cheshire and Warrington are among areas in which we are keen to see devolution, as the Minister for Levelling Up, I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following the local elections.

The Government remains committed to extending and deepening devolution further across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to establish and grow new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already playing a powerful role in driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech that Cheshire and Warrington are among areas in which we are keen to see devolution, as the Minister for Levelling Up, I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following the local elections.

The Government remains committed to extending and deepening devolution further across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to establish and grow new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already playing a powerful role in driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech that Cheshire and Warrington are among areas in which we are keen to see devolution, as the Minister for Levelling Up, I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following the local elections.

The Government remains committed to extending and deepening devolution further across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to establish and grow new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already playing a powerful role in driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech that Cheshire and Warrington are among areas in which we are keen to see devolution, as the Minister for Levelling Up, I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following the local elections.

The Government remains committed to extending and deepening devolution further across England. We will continue to work with local government in England to establish and grow new mayoral combined authorities, combined county authorities, and county deals. Discussions with places to identify potential candidates for the next set of devolution deals are underway.

The Government is particularly interested in exploring opportunities for devolution deals that will empower local leaders and communities where places want a directly elected leader or mayor, in line with the devolution framework published in the Levelling Up White Paper. Our existing mayors are already playing a powerful role in driving economic growth, improving public services and giving local areas a voice on the national stage.

The Secretary of State set out in his Convention of the North speech that Cheshire and Warrington are among areas in which we are keen to see devolution, as the Minister for Levelling Up, I have agreed to meet with council leaders to discuss their devolution ambitions in the coming weeks, following the local elections.

We are committed to the Levelling Up Mission that by 2030 every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal. We will set out a process for new areas to come forward in due course.

We want to devolve and decentralise to give more power to local communities, providing an opportunity for all places to level up. We intend to bring forward the Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper in due course. This will cover how the UK Government will partner with places across the UK to build a sustainable economic recovery and set out our plans for future devolution arrangements.

a) We will publish an English Devolution White Paper in 2020, setting out our strategy to unleash the potential of our regions. It will consider the future role of local growth funding and will provide further information on our plans for full devolution across England, whilst levelling up powers between Mayoral Combined Authorities.

(b) The Government recognises the importance of engaging with a wide range of stakeholders on the future of devolution in England and will continue this as it develops the English Devolution White Paper.

The Government’s manifesto committed to "providing clarity across England on what devolution means for different administrations so all authorities operate in a common framework". We aim to be able to provide local areas with this clarity on how best to take forward their devolution and local growth ambitions over the coming months.

It would be remiss of me not to point out that tomorrow marks the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, and I am sure that the whole House would like to join me in wishing well not only to those who are organising and participating in events around the world but to everybody who celebrates the life and legacy of Scotland’s great bard.

As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear, we are intensifying our discussions with the devolved Administrations on powers returning from the EU. I had a useful discussion with Mike Russell early in the new year, and I am confident that discussions will continue to be productive.

It is quite easy, in opposition, to pursue stunts and gimmicks, and that is what the Labour amendment was. This Government have made it quite clear that we would agree an amendment to the Bill with the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government, and that is what we are doing.

The Secretary of State and junior ministers have had meetings with various Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), including those for North Yorkshire, Sussex, Hertfordshire, Northumbria and Thames Valley, to discuss matters relating to the Criminal Justice System (CJS). Amongst the topics discussed have been their ambitions for greater devolution in the CJS.

Together with the Home Office, Ministry of Justice officials are exploring how PCCs and Mayors with PCC powers can play a greater role in the wider CJS. The strengths that PCCs currently bring to policing could be of real benefit to the wider CJS, and we are keen to explore this further.

The Home Secretary has regular meetings with Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) where a range of topics, including the extension of the PCC role, are discussed.

Together with the Ministry of Justice, Home Office officials are exploring how PCCs and Mayors with PCC powers could play a greater role in the wider Criminal Justice system (CJS). The strengths that PCCs currently bring to policing – transparency, accountability and a direct local mandate – could be of real benefit to the wider CJS.

This Government is making huge strides towards rebalancing the economy and empowering local government. Our priority over the last year has been to conclude the original devolution deals and see mayors established in city regions across the country. Where there is agreement between local partners, we would be happy to meet to discuss local ambitions to boost growth and productivity, and hope to be able to provide local areas with more clarity on how best to take forward these ambitions as Government sets out the next stages of its developing Industrial Strategy and our Framework for Devolution.