6Local government
Benefits of local government involvement in trade policy
135.Historically, “local government has been seen as less relevant than other institutions to international trade.”162 However, Dr Michael Strange, a Senior Lecturer from Malmö University, informed us of the changing context for local government involvement in, and awareness of, trade policy. He noted that “it is a problem if the public and local government become increasingly alienated from these processes.”163 Dr Strange noted the historic absence of a role for local government in trade policy:
International trade has been thought to be something taking place at another level and trade agreements are thought to be too general for the input of local government to be relevant.164
136.During our evidence session focused on local government involvement, we heard how local government plays a role in trade facilitation and monitoring trading standards.165 In its response to the Government’s White Paper on trade policy, the Local Government Association (LGA) highlighted the benefits of involving local authorities in trade policy:
Local authorities leverage their unique proximity to local markets, businesses and investors, as well as their understanding of local assets, investment priorities, and opportunities to cut across trade and investment support services and provide a joined up “one stop shop” approach to investment activities at a local level.166
137.In May 2017, six new “Metro mayors” were elected in combined authorities across England. The Metro mayors are responsible for, amongst other things, growing the economies of their respective city regions.167 We received evidence from the Metro mayors of the Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield combined authorities, all of whom expressed a desire to have greater involvement in national trade policy.168 Dan Jarvis, Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, noted that:
Mayors play a central role in the development of UK Trade policy. National policy has to support our own local priorities and for it to do that Mayors must be involved in its oversight nationally as well as at the regional Department for International Trade level […] Mayors are central to how that trade policy is implemented, with a clear focus on rebalancing the economy and empowering regions with significant trade potential to be at the forefront of determining appropriate target markets and aligning national government resources to delivering activity in those target markets.169
138.Ms Essex, from the British Chambers of Commerce, outlined the benefits of including local government in trade policy, centring around its connection with localised business:
I think where there are concentrations of industry in regions and local areas they should have an input into it in the same way that Scotland would around certain issues, Wales around certain issues and Northern Ireland. Whether that is through local authorities or through their parliamentary representatives, LEP [Local Enterprise Partnership] or whatever the mechanism is, certainly there should be some acknowledgement of any impact on a specific region, whether that is a nation or a region of the UK.170
139.Cllr Kevin Bentley, Chair of the LGA’s Brexit Taskforce and Deputy Leader of Essex County Council, told us that local government does not “want to swap Brussels for Whitehall”.171 He did, however, tell the Committee of an increased dialogue with DIT.172
Regional impact
140.Earlier this year, the Secretary of State said:
Despite trade increasing prosperity and living standards, some sectors, regions and groups experience the, often more concentrated, adjustment effects of trade.173
141.The LGA noted the growing resistance to trade agreements as an important argument for further consultation with local government.174 Dr Gabriel Siles-Brügge, Associate Professor in Public Policy at Warwick University, and Dr Strange note that TTIP catalysed much resistance because of its potential impact on the public, and that local government had made their opinions known:
Such actions have included the passing of governmental motions criticising the negotiations, going as far (in some cases) as the establishment of “free zones”–formal statements that a municipality is “symbolically” TTIP-(or other agreement)-free and/or otherwise exempt from its provisions.175
This included Warwickshire County Council passing a motion:
That Warwickshire County Council calls on the Government to oppose the introduction of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership given that this may lead to the sale of public and local authority assets with consequent impacts on this authority’s ability to deliver services at a viable cost.176
142.The paper by Dr Siles-Brügge and Dr Strange points out that modern trade agreements include local government within the scope of their application when it comes to, for example, commitments on services and procurement liberalisation or investor protection. They argue, however, that municipalities within the EU have had less access to institutionalised means to resist implementation of trade agreements than other sub-national levels of government, and that they:
do not benefit from the formalised trade policy consultation mechanisms applying to EU Member States in the Council of the EU, and thus rely on making their views known either by pressuring their national governments and parliamentarians or Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) [for example by passing critical motions], or by participating in more informal consultation mechanisms […]177
143.Cllr Bentley pointed that a role for municipalities in trade policy is particularly relevant in current circumstances, given the potential for significant regulatory change as the UK leaves the EU and looks to create new trading arrangements. He noted the potential impact of new trade agreements on environmental health issues, food hygiene standards and other areas relevant to local government.178 Cllr Bentley called for a statutory role for local government in trade policy.179
144.Local government and its areas of competence are directly affected by national trade policy decisions. In addition, local government is well placed to understand the effects of trade policy on the individuals and organisations whose interests it represents. Local authorities are, therefore, well placed to be involved in the development and scrutiny of trade policy. Local government should have a voice throughout the trade policy process, and the Government, in its response to this report, should set out how it plans to facilitate this. The Government should consider whether it would be appropriate to include local government representation on STAG.
164 Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Michael Strange, “Municipal Level Trade Contestation: activists and local governments from the MAI to TTIP“, in Jörg Broschek and Patricia Goff (eds), Multilevel Trade Politics: Configurations, Dynamics, Mechanisms (University of Toronto Press – forthcoming). Dr Gabriel Siles-Brügge is currently a Parliamentary Academic Fellow who supports the work of the International Trade Committee.
166 Local Government Association, HMG white paper on future UK trade policy - LGA Response, November 2017
167 Centre for Cities, “Everything you need to know about metro mayors”, June 2016
168 See Dan Jarvis MP, Sheffield City Region Mayoral Combined Authority (UTP0037), Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (UTP0038), Greater Manchester Combined Authority (UTP0039)
173 Department for International Trade, “Liam Fox delivers Parliament and the public a central role in post-Brexit UK trade agreements”, 16 July 2018
174 Local Government Association, HMG white paper on future UK trade policy - LGA Response, November 2017
175 Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Michael Strange, “Municipal Level Trade Contestation: activists and local governments from the MAI to TTIP”, in Jörg Broschek and Patricia Goff (eds), Multilevel Trade Politics: Configurations, Dynamics, Mechanisms (University of Toronto Press – forthcoming).
176 Warwickshire County Council, Annual Meeting Minutes, 19 May 2015. The motion in question was moved by Matt Western, who has since become a member of the International Trade Committee.
177 Gabriel Siles-Brügge and Michael Strange, “Municipal Level Trade Contestation: activists and local governments from the MAI to TTIP”, in Jörg Broschek and Patricia Goff (eds), Multilevel Trade Politics: Configurations, Dynamics, Mechanisms (University of Toronto Press – forthcoming).
Published: 28 December 2018