Comment

Power to the 38

Decentralisation is becoming real with 38 cities bidding for more powers. In his latest column Atkins' Nick Roberts assesses the issues and believes there will be opportunities for the private sector in guiding decisions.

It’s a conundrum that has taxed the minds of many business leaders. As Shakespeare might have put it, ‘centralisation or decentralisation, that is the question’. In most cases the answer is only reached after considering a range of variable factors which is why the pendulum can swing easily from one side to the other. It’s about what is right for the business at the time.

"The longer lead time needed to realise the benefits of infrastructure doesn’t align well with a five year political cycle, so it will be important for authorities to find ways to deliver these without being tempted to redirect funding meant for long-term infrastructure programmes."

This is not just a challenge for companies. We’ve seen various iterations of regional bodies come and go, from Regional Development Agencies to the Greater London Council.   And we’re seeing it play out in front of our eyes at a governmental level again now. Despite devolution to the constituent countries, the UK is still one of the most centralised countries in the world. But this is changing. With the announcement that 38 cities and regions have submitted bids to inherit devolved powers from Westminster, the pendulum is well and truly in motion.

I think there’s a role for all three levels – national, regional and local. Therefore the decentralisation debate should be around which powers are devolved to who and on what criteria, particularly if the principle has been established that local people are better placed to make many of the decisions that affect them and their local area.

At present the 38 cities and regions are bidding for more powers primarily around education, transport, healthcare, housing and business support. But I’d anticipate that this will just be the start. If they make a success of these areas why wouldn’t they seek powers in other areas as well?

So, what does all this mean for infrastructure, and how do we tackle the local versus central debate? 

I like the idea that local and regional authorities will be able to invest in and prioritise the schemes that will deliver the biggest benefit for residents and businesses. It comes with some risks though, particularly with local authority budgets already stretched. Frontline services are high profile and high priority for local authorities. The longer lead time needed to realise the benefits of infrastructure doesn’t align well with a five year political cycle, so it will be important for authorities to find ways to deliver these without being tempted to redirect funding meant for long-term infrastructure programmes.

There’s also a matter of efficiency. Although local delivery can reduce costs, authorities would need to avoid reinventing the wheel where good solutions have already been developed by their counterparts in other areas. It’s about creating a culture of collaboration rather than competition, and the Northern Powerhouse provides a good opportunity for this kind of joined up thinking to be put into practice.

It sounds simple on the face of it but we should not underestimate the need to build project delivery capacity and capability across the public sector. This means local authorities raising local issues to a national level and central government sharing the learnings and experience they’ve amassed from years of programme delivery with local authorities. I also see a role for the private sector to help with this.

It’s an exciting new world to which local authorities, infrastructure owners and the supply chain will need to adapt over the next five years if we want to enrich the lives of local people and businesses. For many it will require better local knowledge, more creative problem solving and increased sharing of knowledge between clients and partners. So to answer the Shakespearian-style question I posed at the beginning, the answer is both.

Nick Roberts is chief executive of Atkins UK & Europe