London Finance Commission: One Year On

In 2013 the independent London Finance Commission published its recommendations for devolving funds and powers to London’s government. It argued that property taxes gathered in London should stay in London to provide secure income that can be used to improve the capital’s infrastructure.

The Mayor of London and London Councils fully accepted the recommendations and subsequently joined with the Core Cities Group – representing Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield – to mount the joint City Centred campaign calling for fiscal devolution to all of England’s great cities to allow them to grow.

One year on, this new, easy-to-read report sets out the urgent need for devolution and details of how devolved funds would be managed and spent in the capital.

It details the context of the Government’s related commitments so far, including the new financial freedoms being granted to Scotland and Wales, and includes a Q&A which sets out why devolving funds and powers in England is the right choice. And it includes a commitment to freeing England’s cities that the City Centred campaign urges all main political parties to sign up to in their 2015 general election manifestos.

For more information on the campaign please visit: www.citycentred.co.uk. If you have any further questions please contact Greg Taylor, email [email protected].