From Second Reading to Grand Committee: advancing cultural devolution in the UK Parliament
Yesterday’s Grand Committee debate in the House of Lords built on sustained work by Culture Commons to secure a clear place for culture, creativity and heritage in England’s devolution agenda. Drawing on our evidence developed with 250 organisations, Peers reinforced a simple point: cultural capability is central to effective devolution, not an optional extra.
Members of the House of Lords debating the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill in Grand Committee, 20th Jan 2026
The debate set out a clear warning. Without explicit provision for culture and heritage, devolution will fall short of its ambitions—leaving collaboration between mayors, government and the cultural sector fragmented and limiting its impact on civic life, social cohesion and place-based leadership.
Why this matters
As drafted, the Bill gives mayors and Strategic Authorities stronger powers over economic growth. But by failing to include culture, creativity and heritage, it hard-codes a narrow view of local leadership - one that prioritises the economy while overlooking the cultural and civic foundations that make places function, bring people together and give growth lasting value.
Our sector-leading work on cultural devolution shows that successful devolution is not just about shifting powers, but about giving places the capabilities to use them well. Culture, creativity and heritage are core to strengthening capabilities: they shape identity and belonging, animate town centres, support innovation, and strengthen social cohesion at a time when trust in institutions and shared civic life is under pressure.
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Grand Committee is the stage of a Bill’s passage in the House of Lords where detailed, line-by-line scrutiny takes place in front of government Ministers. Unlike Second Reading, which focuses on overall intent, this is where Peers table and debate specific amendments, challenge omissions and test how the Bill will work in practice, with Ministers required to respond on the record. What is said and acknowledged at this stage shapes the Bill as it moves to Report and Third Reading - before it passes to the House of Commons - and creates a formal parliamentary record that can be used to drive further change.
What Peers said in the debate
Support for embedding culture, creativity and heritage in the Bill was voiced from across the House. Baroness Prashar and the Earl of Clancarty led amendments developed with Culture Commons, sponsored by Baroness Keeley, reflecting strong Labour backing. Supportive interventions from Lord Parkinson, Baroness Griffin, Lord Freyberg and Baroness McIntosh demonstrated clear cross-party and cross-bench recognition that culture is integral to effective and legitimate devolved governance.
Key points raised by Peers include:
Culture and heritage are foundational to place, not discretionary extras. They influence how communities experience devolution in practice and whether new structures feel relevant to everyday life.
Mayors and Strategic Authorities need the right tools, not just economic levers. Without culture being named as an area of competence, opportunities for collaboration with national departments and arm’s-length bodies remain ad hoc and fragile.
Local flexibility matters, but so does legislative clarity. The amendments discussed do not prescribe how cultural powers must be exercised; rather, they create a lawful pathway for mayors and government to work together where there is local appetite and readiness.
Devolution should strengthen social cohesion as well as growth, recognising culture’s role in participation, pride of place and the shared stories that bind communities together.
These points closely mirror the evidence and analysis we have published over the past year, including our detailed proposals on how culture, creativity and heritage can be embedded within England’s devolved governance framework.
Read our proposed amendments to the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill here 👈.
Next steps
We are grateful to the Peers who have worked closely with us and spoken in support of culture, creativity and heritage during the Bill’s passage. Their contributions show that this is not a peripheral concern, but a core question about what devolution is for and the kind of places it should help to build.
As the Bill progresses, Culture Commons is taking this work beyond Westminster too. We are engaging directly with mayors, combined authorities and sector leaders to raise the profile of cultural devolution and to translate parliamentary momentum into practical change on the ground.
The prize is a stronger devolution settlement: one that aligns economic power with cultural capability, supports long-term investment in local cultural infrastructure, and equips local leaders to shape identity, belonging and civic life alongside growth. That is the case we will continue to advance - inside Parliament and across the country - as this legislation moves forward.
“Culture Commons exists to help leaders navigate policy opportunities - connecting policy, evidence and local ambition. If you’re thinking about what devolution could mean for your place or sector, we’d be delighted to talk to you.”
