Fiscal devolution: An era of opportunity

City-REDI prepared this brief to inform the debate on fiscal devolution. The UK has traditionally been a fiscally centralised system with most of the local authority income coming from government transfers. The acknowledgment of the importance of place and local leadership in policies such as the industrial strategy, devo deals and the budget, together with the challenges of delivering Brexit provide an opportunity for local government to argue for more fiscal powers to generate local inclusive growth.

The briefing paper suggests that:

-Local government should investigate the opportunities for greater financial freedoms as well as the threats, risks, and impacts.
-Devolution should be a step by step approach in which local authorities prove they can be prudent and more efficient local decision makers.
-National government should support the process by diversifying the range of options/tools and pooling the risk for reasonable experimentation.