National missions must survive local realities of ‘devolution dilemma’

The UK government has established five national missions as a coordinated, top-down vision for tackling Britain’s biggest challenges, aimed to kickstart economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, take back the streets, break down barriers to opportunity, and build a future-fit NHS. But according to Gita Singham-Willis of Transform UK, this will be challenged by a transformative shift which is happening in parallel: devolution.

As central government moves towards devolving power, funding, and responsibility to new, larger local authorities, a significant opportunity presents: how can this new era of localism empower the missions and supercharge national goals?

The missions represent fundamental, long term national priorities. Their success now hinges on embracing the new reality of local control, where national ambitions can be expertly tailored to distinct local priorities.

Missions and Mayors

When we look at the Government’s missions through the lens of devolution, new strategic questions come into focus. The new devolved authorities will have to manage broader territories with more diverse needs, meaning success requires a more sophisticated approach than a one-size-fits all”, unlocking the potential for better outcomes and greater equality across the country.

• Economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity: Currently, local authorities have their own approaches to skills and jobs. Under devolution, well-funded metropolitan mayors may invest heavily in skills, while smaller or more rural areas have the potential to get left behind if funding and powers are unevenly distributed. Initiatives to break down barriers to opportunity, which often rely on targeted, local understanding, could become diluted across vast new territories, forcing authorities to either reduce service levels or face unsustainable costs to maintain quality. The UK Government is seeking to mitigate these risks through devolution deals, but significant effort is required to understand what is needed.
• Safer streets: This mission, heavily reliant on local partnerships across community and faith groups, the voluntary sector and local government, is set to become more complex. The established relationships between these groups and their local councils will have to be reviewed across new, unfamiliar boundaries. Policing itself is already a complex, multi-layered system and aligning its operations with new devolved authorities could introduce new challenges. Some positive steps have been taken in both Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire,  where there has been integration of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) into mayoral roles to streamline responsibilities in some areas. Different approaches will need to be explored to see what is the most effective.
• Clean energy: The transition to green energy is already complex with the existing regional structures for utilities like energy and water. These structures don’t necessarily map cleanly onto the new devolved regions, This creates potential confusion and will require significant co-ordination to establish and clarify where authority and responsibilities lie. Whether devolution creates green jobs will depend entirely on whether a mayor prioritises but the potential for creating green jobs also relies on a combination of factors — including mayoral priorities, available powers and funding, and national initiatives and frameworks.
• Building an NHS fit for the future: Devolution presents both opportunities and risks for this mission.  Greater local control could enable health services to be better tailored to community needs (allowing for the diversity of provision across larger unitary authorities) and potentially will result in stronger integration between health, social care, housing and employment — all critical to improving a health nation. However, this potential could be undermined if different devolved authorities allocate varying levels of funding and focus to public health and prevention, leading to a fragmented approach to what remains a nationally critical service. The relationships between Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and the new strategic authorities will be essential in ensuring coordination of effort and alignment between the NHS Long Term Plan and emerging devolution frameworks. Without this coherence, there is a risk that regional disparities in access to and quality of care — the ‘postcode lottery’ — could be widened rather than reduced.

The challenge of change

Beyond the logistical complexities, devolution represents a monumental organisational and cultural change. Authorities that have operated in a certain way for decades are being asked to merge, restructure, and rethink everything. This is not a short-term project. It is a chance to reset and accelerate progress on the missions that require a long-term stable focus.

Navigating this complexity is a central challenge. To succeed, the new devolved authorities must move beyond simply restructuring and set off on a broader transformation journey. This requires a focus on several critical areas:

• Harnessing data: Local authorities often work with fragmented data that is not joined up. To effectively manage a larger and more diverse population, leaders will need to bring disparate data sets together to create a holistic and sensible view for informed decision-making.
• Redesigning public services: Services designed for one area will not work for a combined authority covering a larger territory. A fundamental redesign of public service provision is required to meet the varied needs of a bigger population, considering how money flows through the new system.
• Driving organisational and cultural change: This level of change is a massive cultural shift for everyone involved. Success will depend on managing this internal transformation, helping to build a unified culture and ensuring staff are clear on their roles and responsibilities in the new model, whilst continuing to serve the public throughout.
• Building a new operating model: The first wave of devolved authorities is defining a completely new operating model for local government. This is a full re-orchestration that requires the integration of service provision, data, and technology with new governance and organisational structures to be successful.

Devolution presents both a great opportunity for local empowerment and a significant challenge to the UK’s national missions. Without a deliberate and strategic approach to transformation, the risk of fragmented efforts, stalled progress, and growing inequality is very real.

Success will not happen by simply redrawing lines on a map. It requires a true organisational and cultural evolution. Devolved leaders must proactively build modern, data-driven, and people-focused organisations capable of navigating this new landscape. By doing so, they can deliver on both the unique priorities of their local areas and the shared national goals that will define Britain’s future.

Gita Singham-Willis is strategic engagement director at Transform UK, and a leading expert in digital and business transformation across the public sector.