This week has been busy getting out and building out the devolution programme, but before that the week started with an important joint briefing with the Local Government Association and Cabinet Office on the work we are doing to get ahead of the crisis in adult social care and children’s services so that we invest more in prevention.
Quickly followed by an appearance in from of the Select Committee in Parliament to answer questions as minister about how devolution will recognise the essential work of local councillors by giving them more power to be able to continue their work and so frontline public services can improve in a way that people can see, feel and value.
With the usual batch of internal meetings on the work we are doing to deliver a fair funding settlement, building on the work we did this year for councils, and a significant programme of local government reorganisation in the remaining 21 two tier county areas. Many of these, and meetings like the Speakers Commission where we approved appointments to bodies like the Electoral Commission also held this week do not receive public coverage but are essential.
Likewise with the many pieces of legislation signed off, some technical, others like the extension of support for those who received single persons discount but have since taken in families as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme. A small example of the range of support given in our firm solidarity of Ukraine and its people in the face of Putins aggression. 
And a rare break from Westminster took me up to Cumbria—one of six areas on track to elect a mayor next May, bringing with it serious powers and investment.
This included a fantastic visit to Carlisle to have a walking tour of the local regeneration and to see the huge potential for growth post-devolution, and we managed to bump into a local historian and tour guide who offered a whistle stop visit inside the wonderful cathedral.
Also had the chance to stop by the New Balance trainer factory—a brilliant example of a growing, successful manufacturing business that could benefit even more from our devolution agenda. What really stood out was the generations of families working there—a real sense of pride in the place. They’re investing in the site, and I have to say, there’s something quite special about a factory right on the shoreline… especially when you end up chasing runaway lambs back into the field next door! Not a bad day in the office.
The sixth Convention of the North was held this where political and business leaders from across the north of England came together in Preston, including the Deputy Prime Minister who addressed the convention.
For me, a real highlight was speaking at the evening dinner in the magnificent Lancashire County Hall—which, until 1974, was the home of local government for Oldham, Chadderton, and Royton.
The North is ready to drive growth, create jobs, and lift living standards, and this Labour government is right behind that mission. With devolution rolling out in Hull and East Yorkshire this May, and (all being well) Cumbria, Lancashire, and Cheshire next May, we’ll soon have the full devolution map of the North complete—and that will be a proud moment.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 