Purpose

Report of the Director of Legal and Governance
following Government changes to the Devolution Priority Programme
(DPP) the four Constituent Authorities in Hampshire and the Solent
region need to seek new delegated consents from their members to
sign a new statutory instrument (SI). This paper sets out the
changes from the previous proposition that all councils had
consented to, and the new proposition from Government, so that each
council can assess the scale and significance of the changes when
considering the request for a new delegated consent.

Decision

(i) 
To consider the report and any recommendations from Governance
Committee and resolves to endorse both the detail and governance
principles contained in Appendix 3.
(ii) 
To delegate authority to the Chief Executive following consultation
with the Leader of the Council and Director of Legal and Governance
to agree any draft Parliamentary Order that the Government wishes
to lay before Parliament to create a new Hampshire and the Solent
Mayoral County Combined Authority (HSCCA).

Reasons for the decision

1. 
Following Government changes to the Devolution Priority Programme
(DPP) the four Constituent Authorities in Hampshire in the Solent
region need to seek new delegated consents from their members to
sign a new statutory instrument (SI). 
Despite the delay in the mayoral election, HSCCA will still be a
Mayoral Combined County Authority (also known as a Mayoral
Strategic Authority). This paper sets out the new proposition, and
highlights changes, challenges and opportunities when considering
the request for new delegated consent.
2. 
Being part of the DPP will bring a minimum of £1.3 billion to
the region over 32 years. That being £44.6m annual investment
fund from 2028 (£17.84m for the next two years).
3. 
Whilst the investment fund has been slightly reprofiled prior to
the mayoral election, the government has confirmed there will be a
significantly increased capacity fund both prior to the mayoral
election, and for the first mayoral term.
4. 
In addition to the investment fund, experience of others
demonstrates that having a Mayoral Strategic Authority (MSA) gives
the region access to a significant pipeline of additional funding
and inward investment opportunities that would not otherwise be
accessible, with many areas seeing the additional funding far
outweighing the investment fund itself.
5. 
Other benefits of the changes include:
a.  The opportunity to
understand and positively implement a new regionally focused
organisation and its relationship with the constituent authorities
as well as other partners.
b.  The organisation has
more time in a slightly lower profile position to establish its
culture, policies and procedures
c.  Projects in
the agreed pipeline will continue, with the opportunity to close
some current funding gaps in proposed projects.
d.  The DPP areas will
have a specific forum with which to discuss regional issues and
opportunities with Government.
e.  Government will
still seek to engage with Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs) on
their investment priorities as part of developing a Local Growth
Plan and strategic investment pipeline. Constituent authorities
will have considerable influence in this.
 
6. 
Providing delegated consent at this time provides the opportunity
to set up for devolved Adult Skills Funding to the region in 2027,
which is dependent on HSCCA being established as a legal entity by
July 2026. This would see an additional £24 million of
funding within our regional control, which would be missed if the
SI is not laid and the organisation is not established as a legal
entity in time.

Alternative options considered

1. 
The alternative to not taking the new Statutory Instrument to each
constituent council to seek a delegated consent to sign the SI
would be that the constituent authorities withdraw from the
Devolution Priority Programme and do not seek to progress
devolution at this time.
2. 
This is not recommended because the region would miss out on the
£44.6M annual investment fund, totalling £1.3 billion,
paid over 32 years. Any future devolution programme would not come
with any guarantee that funding would be provided at the same
level.
3. 
Another option would be to continue on the DPP but on a slower
timeline, waiting until after local elections in May 2026, to
determine whether a delegated consent for the new SI could be
sought at that time, in the summer of 2026.
4. 
A delay such as this is not recommended because it risks making our
region a less attractive proposition for Government, putting
Hampshire and Solent on a slower timeline than the majority of
other DPP regions.