UK Government backs our call to include ‘Culture’ in flagship Devolution Bill
This major policy breakthrough follows a sustained, multi-year programme of research, policy development and advocacy led by Culture Commons, drawing on research developed with 30 core partners, over 250 consulted organisations and six universities.
This week, the UK Government confirmed it will table an amendment to include “Culture” in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
Through sustained engagement with Secretaries of State, Ministers, Mayors, MPs and Peers, Culture Commons has kept culture firmly on the agenda as the Bill progressed through Parliament - building strong cross-party backing for our proposals, including from Baroness Margaret Hodge, who recently led the Government’s review of Arts Council England.
As a result, the creative, cultural and heritage sectors will be recognised not as an afterthought, but as central to how devolution delivers economic growth, democratic engagement and public value.
This marks a significant shift in national cultural policy.
What the amendment will do
The Bill establishes the framework for transferring powers and responsibilities from Westminster to Strategic Authorities across England, as part of the Government’s wider ambition to deepen devolution and encourage decision-making closer to communities.
As originally drafted, the Bill devolved powers across areas such as transport, health and skills, with “creative industries” captured within economic development and regeneration aspects. However, the arts, culture and heritage were not explicitly included - despite their prominence in the preceding White Paper - creating a clear risk that these sectors would be overlooked in future devolution settlements.
The amendment developed and advanced by Culture Commons - and now taken up by the government - addresses this gap by establishing “Culture” as an eighth area of competence.
In practice, this gives Strategic Authorities a clear mandate to take a more coherent and strategic approach to the creative, cultural and heritage sectors and support local authorities within their footprints to deliver on their ambitions. It further opens up an opportunity to align our sectors with other agendas in the Bill, including growth, regeneration, health and skills, while recognising their distinctive role in supporting identity, civic life and place.
How we got here
Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP with Culture Commons Director, Trevor MacFarlane FRSA
In 2024/25, Culture Commons led an extensive independent programme of research and open policy development on cultural devolution.
Working with partners across local government, the cultural sector and academia, we built a robust evidence base and translated this into practical recommendations - publishing our findings on a policy portal.
We then used that evidence base and our ongoing engagement with key decision makers across the UK throughout 2025/26 to inform a series of detailed amendments to the Bill itself.
This was followed by sustained, targeted engagement with Ministers, parliamentarians and officials, ensuring that our proposals were understood, tested and advanced at every stage of the legislative process.
What happens next
The amendment will be debated in the House of Lords next week, before the Bill returns to the House of Commons for final approval.
With the Government now backing the change, it is highly likely to be incorporated into the final legislation.
The inclusion of culture within the devolution framework creates substantial opportunities, alongside important questions about implementation, governance and resourcing at sub-regional level.
A ‘think and do tank’ for cultural devolution
This marks the beginning of a new phase for cultural policy in England.
As devolution extends and Strategic Authorities take on new powers, there will be a growing need for places and organisations to be able to translate national priorities into clear, locally grounded strategies and programmes.
Culture Commons is now mobilising the next phase of our work - expanding our ‘think and do tank’ for cultural devolution and bringing together universities, local and regional governments, sector bodies and arm’s length organisations.
Alongside this, we are supporting partners to navigate the opportunities created by the Bill - from shaping regional cultural ecosystem strategies and influencing devolution settlements, to designing governance models, investment approaches and cross-sector partnerships.
We will continue to engage closely with government as policy develops, ensuring our partners are well positioned to respond to - and shape - the next phase of devolution.
If you are considering what this means for your organisation, or how you can play a more active role as part of our ‘think and do tank’, we would welcome a conversation.
Research phase partners
The policy and advocacy phase of this work was informed by an earlier research and insight programme, The Future of Cultural Devolution in the UK. This multi-disciplinary programme was led by Culture Commons in partnership with a coalition of local and regional governments, sector bodies and academic institutions across the UK. We are grateful to all partners for their contribution to this work:
