Devolution was meant to bring decision-making closer to communities—unlocking local potential, loosening Whitehall’s grip, and enabling responsive, joined-up governance. But across England, Combined Authorities (CAs) are drifting from this original vision. Rather than building capacity for local delivery, they risk building internal empires: top-heavy, policy-focused, and increasingly disconnected from the communities they aim to serve.
This article looks at recent developments in the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA), highlighting a worrying shift from frontline delivery to internal expansion. It makes the case for a smarter, leaner model; one that prioritises delivery over duplication and empowers the local systems already in place.
From local empowerment to building empires
Devolution was meant to decentralise decision-making; to shift power from Whitehall to town halls, from departments to neighbourhoods. The logic was simple: people and places are best served when power rests with those who know them best.
But consider the recent trajectory of the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA). In just over a year, it has rapidly established its presence, ambition, and brand. What’s emerging, however, doesn’t always resemble local empowerment. It looks increasingly like internal empire building.
Rapid expansion… at a high cost
The scale of internal growth becomes even clearer when we look at the numbers.
In just the last six months, NEMCA has created at least 12 senior leadership roles—all on salaries ranging from around £81,000 to over £103,000. These are only the posts we know about. There may well be more.
New senior posts created in 2025 (captured to date):
| Role | Salary Range (£) | Estimated Cost (midpoint) |
| Head of People and Culture | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Culture, Creative Industries | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Health and Employability | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Skills Programmes and Delivery | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Skills Policy and Insight | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Business Growth and Support | 81,069 – 85,885 | 83,500 |
| Head of Technology and Transformation | 83,663 – 88,633 | 86,000 |
| Assistant Director of Place | 97,473 – 103,286 | 100,000 |
| Assistant Director of People & Transformation | 97,473 – 103,286 | 99,000 |
| Assistant Director – Transport Policy | 100,592 – 103,286 | 102,000 |
| Assistant Director – Strategic Investment | 100,592 – 103,286 | 102,000 |
| Assistant Director (Creative/unspecified) | 97,473 – 103,286 | 100,000 |
| Head of Economic Inclusion and Child Poverty | 83,663 – 88,663 | 86,000 |
The estimated total annual cost for all the aforementioned jobs adds up to £1,171,000. Over 4 years the annual cost increases to more than £4.6 million.
This is important to note especially when we consider the costs involved and this being the equivalent of 20–25 social workers, 40 youth workers, or entire housing delivery teams in local councils.
Displacement, not distribution
As Combined Authorities grow, they often draw talent away from local councils that still carry statutory responsibilities—housing, social care, planning, economic development. Senior officers with deep local knowledge are lured into regional roles, leaving councils struggling to recruit in a depleted market.
This is not capacity building. It is displacement. We are weakening the foundation, in order to construct a parallel tier of policy.
A parallel civil service?
Combined Authorities were meant to break from Whitehall-style silos. Yet the recruitment drive suggests the opposite: a regionalised replica of the very system devolution was meant to move beyond.
What’s missing are delivery experts—professionals who know how to manage programmes, mitigate risks, and adapt in real time. Across local government, industry, and the third sector, these skills already exist in abundance. They don’t need replacing. They need empowerment.
A smarter alternative
Rather than building a new layer of administrators, we could build a leaner, more collaborative system.
Thematic delivery boards, not bureaucratic directorates
Cross-cutting boards: on housing, skills, transport, health, and net zero made up of council officers and sector experts could co-design strategy, shape joint bids, and align regional investment. Political accountability would remain with the Combined Authority Cabinet.
A lean regional secretariat
A small, high-performing core team focused on programme coordination, data and insight, government engagement, and supporting delivery boards. The CA becomes a hub, not a headquarters.
Secondments, not extraction
Strategic roles filled by fixed-term secondments from councils, academia, or industry; avoiding permanent talent loss, fostering shared learning, and spreading expertise.
Integrated scrutiny. Local authorities should lead on scrutiny: evaluating regional plans through a delivery-focused lens, ensuring transparency, accountability, and realism.
Flexible funding
Resources should flow to the organisations best placed to deliver: whether councils, charities, universities, or businesses. The CA facilitates; it should not hoard.
Drifting away from ineffective models
The North East, and England more widely faces critical challenges: weak productivity, skills gaps, poor health outcomes, and underfunded public services. Addressing them requires focus, urgency, and delivery capacity. It does not require replicating the bureaucracy we already know does not work.
The choice is clear. We can allow Combined Authorities to drift into becoming regional civil services absorbing resources, duplicating roles, and drawing capacity away from where it’s needed most. Or we can demand a model true to the promise of devolution: lean, collaborative, delivery-focused, and rooted in the knowledge and experience that already exists across our councils, communities, and industries.
If devolution is to succeed, it must be about building capacity where it counts. Not building empires behind closed doors.
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