DEVOLUTION UPDATE: Have Kent and Medway been sidelined?

February, 2025

The prospect of the biggest local government shake-up in decades has been delayed by the Government, which has decided not to fast track Kent and Medway’s request to create a new Mayoral Strategic Authority. Maxim Director Andrew Metcalf discusses the latest developments in the devolution priority programme.

The Mayoral Strategic Authority would have seen the reorganisation of Kent County Council and the merging of the district and borough councils into three or four unitary authorities like Medway.

It now appears Kent and Medway will go to first base on the devolution board game: Foundation Strategic Authority (FSA). It’s not yet fully understood what responsibilities a FSA will have, compared to a Mayoral Strategic Authority, which are responsible for:

🚂 Transport and local infrastructure

👷‍♂️ Skills and employment support

🏡 Housing and strategic planning

💷 Economic development and regeneration

🌳 Environment and climate change

🏥 Health, wellbeing and public service reform

🚨 Public safety

While it’s difficult to yet understand what powers these lower-level FSAs will have, apparently the Secretary of State has said a letter is on its way to explain the next steps. If it’s as simple as not having an elected Mayor then so be it, but if it impacts on the ability of Kent and Medway to unlock funding for public services and growth and be beholding to Whitehall then it’s a bad decision.

Given the likes of Essex, East Sussex, West Sussex and Hampshire are being fast tracked it does seem a rather bizarre at best, at worst a case of being sidelined. It takes me back to choosing footie teams in the playground and leaving little Jimmy to last choice.

Given Kent and Medway’s links to London, the apparent progress in getting a new Lower Thames Crossing, the prospect of a second runway at Gatwick, and the ongoing economic significance of trade through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel and the River Thames, it seems rather shortsighted.

Kent and Medway ticked all the boxes when it came to population size, economic size, being a place with a tangible identity, and a countywide political commitment to move to being a Strategic Mayoral Authority.

If you were to be a glass half-full person on this news, you might think Kent can benefit and learn from the inevitable mistakes and pain involved by those authorities fast tracked. I’d argue we’ve got enough of a track record in making public and private sector partnerships work in Kent to get it right first time.

Not surprisingly, the decision has gone down particularly badly locally. I know the leaders of Kent County Council and Medway Council – the two signatories to the letter asking to be fast tracked – won't take the matter lying down, and will be in contact with Ministers and the Secretary of State.

Watch this space, and wherever possible I’ll do my best as a member of the Kent & Medway Economic Partnership to share what I find out with businesses across the patch.

Andrew Metcalf

Maxim / Managing Director