Morning, Friday, 3rd July 2026
Online
This conference will focus on next steps for regional autonomy and partnership working in Greater Manchester. Areas for discussion include implementation of new devolved powers, approaches to fiscal flexibility and strategic governance, and priorities for coordinating investment, transport, skills and public service delivery across the city region.
With the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 now in force, and implementation of the Government’s new devolution framework beginning across England, the conference will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to discuss implications for Greater Manchester as responsibilities expand in areas such as skills and employment support, emerging fiscal powers through a proposed Overnight Visitor Levy Bill, and approaches to using greater discretion over how central government funding is deployed.
Practicalities for implementing measures within the Act will be discussed, including the commitment to establish a Local Audit Office public body, Community Right to Buy powers, and the introduction of a formal process allowing Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities to request additional devolved powers.
Following the Chancellor’s commitment to publish a roadmap for future devolution funding at the 2026 Autumn Budget, sessions will assess priorities for further financial autonomy, including approaches to local revenue retention, accountability, long-term funding certainty and practical flexibility for delivery, drawing on issues and priorities emerging through the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee inquiry into fiscal devolution in England.
The conference will also consider priorities for the mayoralty in delivering the Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-35, including strategic governance and management of expanded responsibilities, alongside effective use of funding certainty for planning and delivery, and putting in place the institutional capacity required to support implementation and sustain growth across the city region.
Investment, research, innovation & productivity
With the expansion of the Greater Manchester Good Growth Fund to £2bn, sessions will explore priorities for translating investment into regeneration, private sector growth and longer-term productivity across the region, including through collaboration with bodies such as the National Wealth Fund. Discussion will also consider approaches to deploying the fund to maximise commercial, community, innovation and employment benefits.
Delegates will also consider how the fund and wider financing initiatives can best be used to strengthen the region’s innovation ecosystem, including support for life sciences and digital sectors. Approaches to improving routes from research to commercialisation will be discussed, including the role of Industrial Strategy Zones, spin‑outs and entrepreneurial firms in enhancing the city region’s global attractiveness to talent, investors and growing enterprises.
Transport integration & regional connectivity
The way forward for further integrating local rail services into the Bee Network will be discussed, including priorities for improving regional connectivity, service reliability, and affordability. Discussion will assess the role of bus franchising in supporting coordination across transport modes, alongside approaches to aligning services with the needs of areas across the region, and strategic considerations for how transport reform can support wider economic development across Greater Manchester.
Next steps for major transport developments including Northern Powerhouse Rail will also be considered, alongside priorities for effective capital deployment into improving road networks and developing active travel options, looking at strategy for practical delivery moving forward.
Neighbourhood health, skills & public service delivery
Further discussion will focus on ongoing strategies and reform to health services through neighbourhood‑based delivery models, drawing on early experience of the rollout of the Live Well programme and the emerging national direction set out in the Neighbourhood Health Framework.
Attendees will assess approaches to collaboration between local government, the NHS and voluntary sector partners, alongside the capacity and governance arrangements needed to support delivery at scale and implement effective accountability mechanisms. Areas for discussion include how the new duty for public bodies to work together to prevent homelessness will function in practice, as well as priorities for commissioning and scheme design to support effective civil society engagement. This includes consideration of how principles in the renewed Greater Manchester VCFSE Accord can be reflected in commissioning and partnership working.
The agenda will also examine priorities for strengthening alignment between skills provision and labour market demand, including initiatives to develop clearer pathways into regionally targeted roles and high-potential industries. Discussion will consider implications of the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, the second cycle of the Local Skills Improvement Plan, and the potential scope for devolved adult skills funding.
Further discussion will assess approaches to addressing challenges around productivity, rising NEET rates, skills shortages and attainment, alongside how partnerships with national bodies such as Skills England may operate in practice to support workforce development and longer-term employment outcomes.
Planning, land use, housing, connectivity & regeneration
With reform to the planning and delivery of place‑based growth and regeneration across Greater Manchester under way, further areas for discussion include strategic connectivity, regeneration priorities and key delivery mechanisms. The agenda will consider the operation of the Places for Everyone plan as the statutory spatial framework guiding housing, employment, land and infrastructure decisions, alongside practicalities for ensuring targeted funding and community engagement in major developments, as well as how strategic and local authority collaboration can be effectively delivered to reduce sector uncertainty and unnecessary administrative burden.
Further sessions will explore the use of Mayoral Development Corporations to accelerate delivery, unlock complex sites and support major regeneration, and assess how new planning, land assembly and infrastructure powers introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 can support certainty, pace and long‑term placemaking across the city region.
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates. As well as key stakeholders, those already due to attend include officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; Department for Business and Trade; Department for Education; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Department for Transport; Government Legal Department; and Ofcom.
