Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effect of devolving powers as a means of improving local democracy within Council of Europe member states; and whether there are lessons they have drawn from devolution settlements in the other Council of Europe member states as regards plans for the further devolution of powers within the United Kingdom.

We and other member states have regular exchanges on democracy issues in the Council of Europe Steering Committee – the European Committee on Democracy and Governance – where, for example, in December 2014, the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my noble Friend Lord Ahmad, provided an overview of the Northern Powerhouse and other devolution issues. In April 2015 Ministers from Armenia and Georgia and the Deputy State Secretary of Moldova also gave presentations on the process of decentralisation and territorial reform in their countries.