County councils have today warned there are signs of a possible slowdown in economic growth that must be tackled through devolution of powers to boost productivity.
A County Councils Network analysis found that, in county areas, productivity was 9% lower than the national average. In addition, some counties had experienced falls in employment rates, despite growth across the country. One area experienced an 8% fall in employment between 2009 and 2013, with other areas recording smaller falls – although across all authorities jobs growth was positive.
The network, which represents 37 county councils and unitaries that serve county areas, called for devolution to ‘England’s economic heartlands’ to arrest this possible slowdown.
In particular, the County Devolution report said giving counties local control of skills, infrastructure and transport spending, as well as greater freedoms over planning, could better match business support with local needs. Equipping counties with the powers to correct training misalignment within their areas would add approximately £8.17bn GVA to the country’s economy and create 698,425 more jobs alone, the report stated.
CCN chair David Hodge said England's counties were key to the nation's economic recovery and must not be overlooked amid devolution deals for cities like Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds and West Yorkshire.
‘While our contribution to the UK Exchequer dwarfs areas outside of London, our economies are also essential to the country, boosting productivity and reducing the deficit,’ he added.
‘Devolution to county areas is the only way to harness this power, building a truly long-term economic recovery and giving us the genuine powers to shape our region's economies to local needs.’
Also among the recommendations in today’s report is call for full local retention of business rates, as well as powers to introduce integrated public transport ticketing within country boundaries. Authorities should also be freed to create spatial strategic plans to tie infrastructure and housing developments to local economic priorities.
