Event

Adding up: What fiscal devolution will mean for England’s mayors

This event hosted by UK think tank Centre for Cities explores how tax sharing and fiscal devolution could give English mayors greater control over local revenues.

The Government has made historic commitments to advance fiscal devolution to mayors, including further business rates retention by 2027 and income tax sharing by 2028. These reforms could give mayors greater control over the revenues generated in their areas and strengthen the link between local economic growth and local government funding.

This event will launch new Centre for Cities research modelling how tax sharing for English mayors could work in practice and what the reforms could mean for mayoral and local government finances. It will explore how allowing cities to retain a share of locally generated taxes could provide stronger incentives to grow their taxbase and invest in their local economies, while ensuring continued support for local public services.

The discussion will consider the opportunities and challenges of moving towards greater fiscal devolution, including what a new system could mean for places with different economic and tax-raising capacities, and how it could support cities to pursue long-term growth.

The event will begin with a presentation of the research from Oscar Selby, Analyst at Centre for Cities. He will then be joined by Andrew Carter, Chief Executive, Anthony Breach, Director of Policy and Research at Centre for Cities, and an external speaker to discuss the findings and their implications for the future of fiscal devolution in England.