Greater Lincolnshire Devolution
Latest update
In a historic moment, the “Statutory Instrument” which is required to form the new devolved Greater Lincolnshire County Combined Authority (GLCCA) has been laid in Parliament.
This piece of Parliamentary process follows written consent being sent from Lincolnshire County Council and North and North East Lincolnshire unitary authorities to Government.
This will mean the forming of the new devolved authority can go ahead with a first meeting of a the new GLCCA expected to take place early in the new year.
This will see the forming of the Authority ahead of the Mayoral election next May – when we will have our first Greater Lincolnshire CCA, (Combined County Authority) with a directly elected Mayor. In a historic moment, the “Statutory Instrument” which is required to form the new devolved Greater Lincolnshire Couty Combined Authority (GLCCA) has been laid in Parliament.
This piece of Parliamentary process follows written consent being sent from Lincolnshire County Council and North and North East Lincolnshire unitary authorities to Government.
This will mean the forming of the new devolved authority can go ahead with a first meeting of a the new GLCCA expected to take place early in the new year. That will come before the first ever Mayoral elections across Greater Lincolnshire in May 2025. The process for candidates to stand to be the new Mayor are currently being worked through with more news on deadlines to stand and timetables due soon.
‘Devolution’ explained
In England, devolution is the transfer of powers and funding from national to local government. The idea is that local decision-makers better understand the needs of businesses and residents here and can allocate funding for things like adult education, transport and business growth.
The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, (GLCCA) will have powers to decide how to spend money locally to improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the people who live or work in our area through:
- improved local transport and roads
- enhanced digital services, like broadband
- help improve the environment and achieve net zero
- the provision of good quality housing
- boosting the economy by supporting local businesses to create new, high paid, high skilled jobs
- improving training to ensure local people can take advantage of the new jobs

In 2023, an agreement was made between Government and the three Lincolnshire lead authorities – Lincolnshire County Council, and North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire unitary authorities – for extra powers and funding to be transferred from Westminster.
As part of the legal process, the full devolution proposal was taken to consultation with residents, businesses, and organisations across the whole area, with a survey and public events during December 2023 and January 2024.
A full report was considered at three North East Lincolnshire Council meetings – Scrutiny, Cabinet, and finally Full Council in March 2024 where all members had a vote on whether the proposed devolution deal is taken forward. Similar meetings took place in Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire.
What this means for Greater Lincolnshire
Greater Lincolnshire Devolution Combined County Authority Executive Summary:
The proposal explained the powers, funding and flexibilities required to address long term challenges and deliver on opportunities across Greater Lincolnshire. It supports levelling up across the area with a focus improving the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of people who live and work in Greater Lincolnshire. It will see:
- Local decisions and long term investment in infrastructure to turbo charge business growth and tackle low business productivity, particularly in key sectors that create high wage, high skills jobs that boost living standards
- Long term strategic planning and investment to protect our environment and unlock high quality housing in our communities that meet the needs of younger workforce and supports those in later life
- Local commissioning of high quality skills, training and pathways to attract and retain younger workers, meet the significant skills needs of our key industries and capitalise on economic opportunity through better alignment of skills, employment, and career opportunities across Greater Lincolnshire
- A stronger voice regionally and nationally to make the case for more investment, to work closely with government on Greater Lincolnshire’s priorities and to deliver on the potential of the area from the Humber to The Wash and new green jobs
- Managing water as an asset, to mitigate the threat of coastal erosion and flooding, and meet the area’s unique demands for water to support growth in agriculture and innovations in manufacturing and carbon capture.
The report set out its ambitions for funding, including:
Mayoral Investment Fund paid over 30 years to invest in infrastructure and skills.
Funding to be spent on skills for jobs.
Capital investment to spend on Greater Lincolnshire’s priority areas.
Capacity funding over three years.
…As well as local control over the Adult Education Budget from 2026 and a consolidated, multi-year transport fund, providing increased financial certainty.
The deal approved is the most ambitious available and in exchange for this level of powers, money, and say in how we spend it, North, North East and Lincolnshire County Council had to submit a proposal to government setting out how this would work through the creation of an independent body called a county combined authority, or CCA.
This level of deal is going to be chaired by an elected official (usually called a Mayor) who you, as Greater Lincolnshire residents, will elect.
Consultation results
The three councils undertook a consultation with residents in the Greater Lincolnshire area to get their views before deciding whether to submit the Proposal to government either in its current form or an amended version. The results of the public consultation found that from more than 4,100 responses:
- 53% agreed with the proposal relating to new jobs and business growth, 32% disagreed, and 15% did not know or were neutral.
- 57% agreed with the proposals relating to education and training, 31% disagreed, and 12% did not know or were neutral.
- 57% agreed with the proposals relating to roads, buses and transport, 33% disagreed, and 10% did not know or were neutral.
- 48% agreed with the proposals relating to homes and communities, 37% disagreed, and 14% did not know or were neutral.
- 57% agreed with the proposals relating to the environment, 31% disagreed, and 12% did not know or were neutral.
- 39% agreed with the proposals relating to governance, 49% disagreed, and 13% did not know or were neutral.
Read the full report: Greater Lincolnshire Devolution (PDF, 489KB)
The consultation received 4,101 responses, which relative to its total population of 1.1 million, means that Greater Lincolnshire achieved ‘the highest response rate across recent devolution consultations’.
The consultation and its outcome had a big part to play in the process that has seen Greater Lincolnshire devolution become a reality and we thank you for taking part.
Investing in Greater Lincolnshire
Turbocharging business growth
- Long-term funding of the infrastructure key local business needs to grow and create jobs.
- A key route network to speed up the movement of goods and passengers around Greater Lincolnshire.
- Government, research and industry brought together to boost business innovation.
- A new approach to managing water that supports local business needs and protects communities from flooding.
High quality skills and jobs
- Careers support that showcases the great opportunities in Greater Lincolnshire and helps people to get a high-skill job.
- Training in higher-level skills to boost access to high-wage jobs in our growth sectors.
- The adult education budget invested in courses that help people achieve a fulfilling future and deliver the skills that our local businesses need to innovate and expand.
- Provide extra help to young people that need it the most, including help for care leavers to get a job.
Unlocking housing through enhanced infrastructure
- Investing in high quality homes, locations and services to retain a younger workforce and support those in later life.
- Investment from Homes England to bring forward the necessary infrastructure to meet the needs of local communities.
- Supporting regeneration of areas, providing sustainable and affordable housing solutions for our future workforce.
- A single Local Transport Authority to develop public transport improvements that connect people with homes, work, leisure and learning.
Delivering our potential – Humber to Wash
- Decarbonise the UK’s largest industrial estuary and deliver green jobs across Greater Lincolnshire in carbon capture and storage, nuclear fusion, water management and energy distribution
- National recognition for the UK Food Valley supporting a new generation of high skill jobs and businesses across the food chain.
- Maximising the potential of the Humber Freeport to create jobs.
- Improved transport links across Greater Lincolnshire and provide a trade corridor to the East Midlands freeport and beyond.
A stronger voice for our area
- A new Mayor, elected by residents to champion the needs of the area and to make a strong case to the Government for more investment and to pilot new ideas in Greater Lincolnshire.
- A Combined County Authority providing local accountability, transparency and capacity to use key growth levers such as transport, skills and economic development.
- Enhanced working relationships with government departments to protect our coastline, natural and historic environment and boost tourism.
- A new role leading the national debate on transport for rural communities to address challenges across ours and other areas.