New National Act to expands devolution and empower local people

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill passed into law 29 April 2026.

The Act intends to introduce new measures to expand devolution and empower mayors and local people. A key part of the the Act is a new Community Right to Buy that will give local people the first right of refusal for valued community assets such as shops and community centres when they are put up for sale.

We know that community ownership is a key ingredient to building a more inclusive economy so this is clearly a step in the right direction. As in previous iterations, the renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord for 2026-2035 includes an explicit commitment to "more assets in community ownership" under the first of three priority areas for change.

However, commentors have questioned if the Act goes far enough. We're Right Here, a united movement for community power across the UK, note that "Without the right financial support, many communities – particularly those in areas of greatest need – simply won’t be able to act on this new right. If the Community Right to Buy is to succeed, it must be backed by funding that ensures every community can benefit, not just in the more affluent areas."

This sentiment is echoed by Power to Change, a 'think-do' tank that backs community business -"A Community Right to Buy only works if communities can access the finance to act on it".

The Act is clearly a step closer to increased community power in our neighbourhoods but there is more to be done so that new opportunities are equitable and truly available to communities.

Other features of the Act include improvements to local high streets, changes to commercial leases, standards for taxi drivers and more:

'Gambling Impact Assessments' that will be introduced to address the proliferation of gambling shops on the high street, so councils can prevent new gambling shops opening.

Upwards Only Rent Review clauses in new and renewal commercial leases will also be banned, which previously prevented businesses’ rents from decreasing - even if the market rate decreased - for new commercial rental agreements.

On the roads, the Act introduces new national standards for taxi drivers, allowing enforcement officers to suspend licences issued by other local authorities where a driver is operating outside their licensed area.

More local transport authorities will be given new powers to enforce against dangerous pavement parking including through fixed penalty notices, and there will be new licencing powers for rental e-bikes which will allow local authorities to set specific requirements on parking, safety, and accessibility standards.

Beyond making changes for communities and high streets, the Act introduces ‘Strategic Authorities’ into law, to make it quicker to devolve powers out from Whitehall. Strategic Authorities with elected Mayors will receive more devolved powers over transport, planning, housing, and economic regeneration.

The Act also establishes Local Scrutiny Committees for mayoral authorities, which will provide scrutiny of local public spending and decision making.