Fears that a 'piecemeal pattern' of devolution is heightening regional inequalities for millions of people in the North of England

A succession of devolution deals which have been introduced across the North of England have been heralded as key to helping instigate a raft of multi-billion pound improvements to services from transport to housing and healthcare as decision-making powers have been shifted away from Westminster.

However, the Government has been told that a “chaotic and incoherent” approach to devolution and the introduction of metro mayors to oversee the new powers has created huge variations across the North of England.

A report published today by the IPPR North thinktank has stressed that a far greater degree of uniformity is needed to ensure that the Government’s pledge to instigate its much-trumpeted levelling up agenda becomes a reality.

Marcus Johns, a research fellow at IPPR North, said northern mayors are “making a positive difference” for the areas that they represent.

But he added: “The Government needs to push further with devolution deals to make sure that all of the country can feel the benefits, it has so far been too chaotic and incoherent.

“With the much-anticipated Levelling Up White Paper, Ministers need to set out exactly how they hope to achieve the levelling up agenda, and devolution will be key to that.

“Not all parts of the North are able to experience the benefits of devolution as yet. The time has come for government to roll out devolution in a way that is inclusive and transparent to other parts of the region, so that they too can feel the benefits of it.”

The research from IPPR North found that 60 per cent of the population in the North, the equivalent of 9.7m people, are now represented by a metro mayor, who were first elected four years ago.

However, the analysis has revealed that nearly 6.5m people are living in areas of the North which have still yet to receive the benefits of devolution, including North Yorkshire as well as East Yorkshire and the Humber.

There are also significant disparities in spending between the mayoral combined authorities in the North of England.

The six northern authorities plan a total of more than £4.2bn during the current financial year, and while this equates to £641 per person in Greater Manchester, the figure is considerably less in comparison for South Yorkshire, with £253 spent per person.

In West Yorkshire, the figure is £476 per person, and £318 is due to be spent per head of the population in the Liverpool City Region.

The Government was adamant that it is committed to realising its levelling up agenda, which was among the big election pledges made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to secure the Tories’ overwhelming parliamentary majority in 2019.

Mr Johnson himself last month called for greater devolution across England, as a means of “levelling up” the whole of the UK.

In a speech in Coventry, the Prime Minister called for cities and towns to make the first move, and said they should come to Downing Street with their “vision about how you will level up".

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government highlighted the fact that some mayoral authorities have responsibilities which others do not, claiming "it doesn’t make sense to compare per-person spending in this way".

A spokeswoman added: “We are levelling up all areas of the country, with billions of pounds of investment to support and regenerate communities.

"As the Prime Minister set out last month, we intend to take a flexible approach to devolution, giving local leaders in our historic towns and counties the tools to make things happen for their communities.

“The six Northern Devolution Deals will bring over £2 billion of investment funding to those places while giving people more control over their areas.”