When I first wrote about the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill last year in a blog post about why the new Devolution Bill matters, it was clear that government was signalling a new chapter for devolution in England. With the Bill now passed into law, that signal has become something more concrete: a reset in how England is governed, and in how local transport is planned, delivered and regulated.

This Act is not simply another addition to an already crowded legislative landscape. It establishes a clearer, more consistent framework for mayoral authorities, expands the scope of local powers, and places English devolution on a far firmer constitutional footing. For transport in particular, it marks a meaningful shift from ad hoc arrangements to a more coherent, long-term approach. 

A new framework 

One of the most significant changes introduced by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act is structural. What began over the last decade as a series of bespoke devolution deals, negotiated place by place and often on different terms, has now been rationalised into a single framework. 

The Act standardises the combined authority model and brings it together under a new legal category: strategic authorities. Within this framework sit three tiers - foundation, mayoral and established mayoral authorities - each able to access a defined suite of powers by default. 

Placing this framework in primary legislation matters as it moves English devolution away from informal agreements and negotiations, and towards a durable and predictable approach. In constitutional terms, this is a serious reset: English devolution is no longer reliant on political goodwill alone, it is underpinned by statute, with standardised and clarified governance processes. 

For transport, this provides a stronger statutory footing for long-term planning, integration and investment across city regions. 

Clearer powers, clearer purpose 

The Act brings new clarity about what strategic authorities are for. It establishes in law 7 core areas of competency, including transport, infrastructure, housing, planning and economic development, reflecting the long-standing view of combined authorities as engines of growth and regeneration. 

There is also a formal recognition of the broader role for strategic authorities in areas such as health, public service reform and employment support. While some combined authorities have already been innovating in these spaces, the Act embeds this wider purpose across the board. 

Crucially this also presents a strengthened link between transport and wider placemaking powers. Mayoral strategic authorities are now mandated to develop local growth plans, bringing economic strategy into closer alignment with national priorities. 

New powers for mayors also include the ability to intervene in planning applications of strategic importance, to make mayoral development orders, and to charge a mayoral community infrastructure levy. Used well, these powers create opportunities to better coordinate transport investment with housing, regeneration and employment growth. 

These governance changes are important for transport planning and delivery, as they strengthen the case for seeing transport not as an isolated system, but as a vital part of how places improve health outcomes, widen access to opportunity and reform public services. 

Transport reform

Transport reform is a central pillar of the newly enacted English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act. The legislation devolves a set of practical, long sought powers to local authorities across England, strengthening their ability to manage networks, streets and services for local communities.  

These include: 

• New powers to enforce against dangerous pavement parking, including through fixed penalty notices, helping improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians. 

• New licensing powers for micromobility allowing local authorities to set local requirements on parking, safety and accessibility standards. 

• New national standards for taxi drivers, with enforcement officers able to suspend licences issued elsewhere where drivers operate outside their licensed area. 

• Reforms to highway management and works coordination, enabling CAs to enforce contraventions of certain road traffic restrictions (such as banned turns and unlawful entry into bus lanes or box junctions), and enabling Key Route Network Power of Direction for Mayors.    

Individually, these measures may seem technical, but taken together with the developments in transport devolution in the last few decades, long term funding, as well as upcoming rail legislation, this gives local transport authorities a stronger hand in managing the everyday realities of travel, from the pavement to the station.  

From legislation to delivery 

The passage of the Act is a milestone, but it is not the end of the journey - with further work coming on the regulations and details underpinning the new powers, as well as rail reform.  

Whilst progress on providing funding certainty through multi-year funding settlements is hugely welcome, there is further scope to enable greater access to local investment levers and boost funding and delivery to fully unlock the ambitions of our members.  

We welcome the Chancellor’s commitment to develop a roadmap for future fiscal devolution, including giving regional leaders control of a share of some national taxes. Transport infrastructure delivery must be at the heart of fiscal devolution plans, as we wrote to the Prime Minister ahead of the King’s Speech.  

In practice, the real test will be how these powers are implemented and resourced, and whether local leaders are trusted to use them ambition and confidence.

What the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act provides is something we have argued for over years – clarity and consistency. For local transport, that creates a stronger platform from which to build better, safer and more integrated networks that serve local communities. 

This is a serious constitutional shift. Now the task is to make sure it delivers serious change on the ground. 

Author: Monta Drozdova is Policy Manager at the Urban Transport Group

Powers across strategic authorities 

The following lists outline the high-level powers across the 3 new levels of strategic authorities.

This is not the exhaustive list of powers and responsibilities across all modes - further development in areas such as taxi and PHV licensing are also ongoing.

Non-strategic authority local transport authority 

• Local Transport Authority and public transport functions, including bus franchising and responsibility for an area-wide Local Transport Plan 
• Responsible for on-street shared micromobility licensing
• Ability to agreements relating to highway works (with the consent of constituent councils) 
• Ability to enter into agreements to undertake civil enforcement of moving traffic offences (with the consent of constituent councils) 
• Power to pay grant to constituent councils  

Foundation strategic authority 

Foundation strategic authorities have the same powers as non-strategic authority local transport authorities, and further additional powers: 

• Ability to levy constituent councils to meet costs of transport functions  

Mayoral strategic authority

Mayoral strategic authorities have the same powers as foundation strategic authorities, and further additional powers:

• Ability to raise a council tax precept for transport  
• Transfer of Secretary of State approval on local lane rental schemes  
• Duty to establish a Key Route Network on the most important local roads  
• Mayoral Power of Direction over use of local highway authority powers on the Key Route Network 
• Statutory role in governing, managing, planning, and developing the rail network  
• Access to multi year Integrated Settlement