CBI responds to English Devolution White Paper - December 2024

Jordan Cummins, Interim Chief Policy and Campaigns Officer, CBI, said:

“We welcome the publication of the English Devolution White Paper, which sets out the government’s ambitions for wider and deeper devolution across English regions. The paper acknowledges that if we are to drive growth and prosperity then decisions over the levers that will drive this growth are better controlled more closely to the point of impact. 

“We have seen in our more established mayoral combined authorities the progress which devolution has enabled, for example with Greater Manchester productivity growth outstripping the national average, in large part down to economic decisions being made by those who understand what needs to happen. 

“The CBI particularly welcomes devolution of strategic spatial planning, which will facilitate a more coherent regional approach to delivering the new housing, commercial and industrial development along with the supporting infrastructure, energy and digital connectivity needed as we move towards a net-zero future.”