The government is committed to supporting local leaders to drive growth and improve public services.

In the Cabinet Statement on ‘Rewiring the State’ the government committed to replace grants from central government with a share of local income tax for every mayor beginning in 2028, such that where a region grows its tax base, it benefits from the increased receipts. This will sit alongside greater retention of the revenue from business rates for local councils and strategic authorities.

At the Budget, the government will publish a roadmap setting out further detail on the design of fiscal devolution, and we will use the upcoming Spending Review to confirm the detailed arrangements for assigned income tax.

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 enables mayors to appoint commissioners to support delivery within areas of competence set out in the Act. These appointments are discretionary and mayors are not required to appoint commissioners in relation to any specific issue or geography.

The Act includes rural affairs and coastal communities as an area of competence. Where a mayor considers it appropriate, they may appoint a commissioner whose work relates to that area and provide them with a locally appropriate brief reflecting the needs and priorities of their communities. The Government has no plans to require the appointment of commissioners in authorities that meet a specified rural population threshold.

Our ambition is that every area in England has, or is in the process of establishing, a Strategic Authority by the end of 2027, with Strategic Authorities in place everywhere by the end of 2028. The Government recently wrote to all areas without a Strategic Authority seeking confirmation of their devolution ambitions, including their preferences regarding mayoral or non-mayoral devolution.

Where an area favours a non-mayoral Foundation Strategic Authority, and for existing Foundation Strategic Authorities, we will work with them on potential future mayoral devolution. The Government will not impose mayors on areas that do not want one, but we do consider that directly accountable mayors represent the strongest form of governance available, and so the suite of powers available to areas with mayors will be commensurately greater. However, we will consider what powers should sit at the Foundation Strategic Authority level, and recently government confirmed that Foundation Strategic Authorities will be able to raise an Overnight Visitor Levy in their area.

The Right to Request was introduced by the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, and allows Mayors of Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to submit requests for new powers and funding, and the Government then has six months to respond. This process is specific to the powers and funding for strategic authorities, and which levers over growth and public services need to be devolved down from Westminster and Whitehall.

As outlined in the Rewiring the State publication on 31 July, the Government will be working in partnership with local authorities and the community sector, alongside strategic authorities and other local partners, to develop our white paper on how the state will be rewired to ensure we are delivering good growth and public services in every postcode. Devolution is not just about transferring new powers to strategic authorities, and we are committed to strengthening the role of local authorities and communities across the country.

Further to the answer provided on 20 July in response to Question 18432, the clinical guideline remains in development through the PANS PANDAS Steering Group, under the leadership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The Steering Group brings together clinicians, professional organisations, families, and patient representatives, and as well as developing the clinical guideline, its work includes supporting education, research, and improved awareness of these conditions.

Once finalised, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence anticipates reviewing the guideline and, if it considers it to be of sufficient quality, will signpost to it on its website with commentary on its strengths and limitations. The guideline will also help inform any future awareness and education activity, including the training curricula produced jointly by regulators, royal colleges, and professional bodies.

Clinical decisions, including prescribing decisions, will remain for the treating clinician, informed by professional judgement, the available evidence, and relevant guidance. Each clinician is responsible for keeping that knowledge up to date. Integrated care boards, primary care providers, and National Health Service trusts are also expected to keep abreast of emerging evidence and guidance and consider it through their clinical governance arrangements.

There is currently no routine national data collection on the number of children and young people affected by paediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS) and paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS).

The Steering Group’s Research Group is progressing work to improve understanding of the number of children and young people affected. Applications have been made to the independent British Paediatric Surveillance Unit and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Surveillance System.

Information on research funded through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) relating to PANS and PANDAS is available through the NIHR Funding and Awards website. The NIHR welcomes applications for research into all aspects of human health, including PANS and PANDAS. The NIHR Funding and Awards website is available at the following link:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/

Agriculture is devolved. Defra administers farming policy in England, while the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive determine their own agricultural policies and support schemes. As part of this arrangement, funding for agriculture and fisheries was baselined and un-ringfenced in each devolved governments block grant from 2024-25.

The Barnett formula, which aims to give each country the same pounds-per-person change in funding, will apply to any future changes in UK Government funding from 2025-26 for agriculture and fisheries in the usual way. This is the normal operation of funding arrangements for the devolved governments. It is for devolved governments to allocate funding as they see fit and they are accountable to their devolved legislatures for those decisions.

The Government is acting in England to support farmers and give them clarity to plan and invest. The recently published Farming Roadmap and Farming Profitability Review response set out a range of short-term and long-term actions. These include investment in ELM funding, support for and investment in innovation and technology, and action to make supply chains fairer. The government has also established the Farming and Food Partnership Board, bringing together senior leaders from farming, food, retail and finance to drive profitability and strengthen food security. Defra continues to cooperate openly and transparently with devolved government colleagues on these frameworks – as well as ongoing policy development across the four nations - via informal and formal structures established under the Common Framework for Agricultural Support.

The government works closely with local government to identify the capacity implications of devolved powers. This includes the Overnight Visitor Levy where Strategic Authorities will be the tax authority responsible for the administration of the levy. Government will work closely with Strategic Authorities interested in using the power and will assess any financial implications in due course.

At the Local Government Finance Settlement, we confirmed a total of £99.6m of funding over the Spending Review period to support existing eligible Strategic Authorities’ staffing and administrative costs, and central corporate functions. Government will also set out further detail on support for MSA capacity and capability later this year building on the Rewiring the State Cabinet statement.

Non-domestic rates are already devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly by the Rates (Northern Ireland) Order 1977.

Local authorities are central to the Government's ambitions for economic growth, public service reform and stronger communities.

As set out in the Government's Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement (here), we are committed to shifting power from central government to local leaders and communities, including through ensuring that powers, functions and resources are exercised at the level most appropriate to achieving better outcomes for people and places.

The Government has also committed to increasing the proportion of business rates retained by local government. Further detail on our approach to devolution and the distribution of responsibilities across different levels of government will be set out in a forthcoming White Paper.

The Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement committed to ensuring there is a clear role for Members of Parliament in local accountability, working with mayors and local councillors. Mayors are responsible for the areas of competence set out in the devolution framework and will have the autonomy to decide how funding is used to deliver for local residents in these areas. While Mayors will be accountable at the local level, as part of the Devolution White Paper, the Government is considering how MPs can engage with strengthened local accountability arrangements in relation to these responsibilities. Further details will be set out in due course.

The Rewiring the State Cabinet Statement committed to ensuring there is a clear role for Members of Parliament in local accountability, working with mayors and local councillors. As part of the development of the Devolution White Paper, Ministers and officials are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including mayors and local government representatives on the co-design and implementation of these reforms. Further details will be set out in due course.

This Government is committed to protecting minority languages and granting Part III recognition to Cornish under the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages was a significant step in recognising and protecting a unique part of culture and heritage in the UK.

Consistent with the Government’s devolution agenda and its belief that local communities are best placed to identify and deliver the support needed in their areas, Cornwall Council, with the support of UK Government, is leading efforts to strengthen and promote the Cornish language. This locally led approach ensures that measures are tailored to Cornwall’s unique cultural and linguistic heritage, while enabling the language to flourish for future generations.

Following recent communication with all areas to understand devolution ambitions across England, we will be confirming next steps for devolution, including Cornwall, shortly.