The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 (the 2026 Act), which received Royal Assent on 29 April, brought into effect many changes for Mayors, Combined Authorities and Combined County Authorities.

These include a new statutory devolution framework, alterations to mayoral powers, changes to governance arrangements and much more. Read our previous insight for a broad look at the 2026 Act and its implications for local authorities, mayoral governance and public service delivery.

This insight focuses on one particular measure that the 2026 Act has introduced: Commissioners. Under the Act, Mayors may now appoint up to ten persons to assist with the exercise of the Mayor’s general functions and Combined Authority or Combined County Authority functions in relation to the areas of competence. They will be known as “Commissioners”.

As this is a function for Mayors, it does not apply to non-mayoral Combined Authorities (CAs) and Combined County Authorities (CCAs).

Our Local Government experts set out the role in more detail below, including how it works in practice and what local authorities can do to prepare for this change.

The role of Commissioners

Section 9 of the 2026 Act has introduced a new section 29A into the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act (LURA 2023) and a new section 107C into the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 (LDEDCA 2009). These provide that the Mayor may appoint up to ten persons:

• to assist the Mayor in the exercise of the Mayor’s general functions in relation to the areas of competence; and
• to otherwise assist the Mayor in relation to the exercise by the CA/CCA of functions which relate to the areas of competence.

Commissioners are intended to bring additional capacity, specialist skills and experience, and aid the Mayor in advancing their policy agenda and delivering against priorities within a specific area of competence.

Schedule 3 of the 2026 Act inserts a new Schedule 2A to the LURA 2003 together with Schedule 5BA to LDEDCA 2009 – both of which set out provisions around appointing Commissioners, the former in the case of a CCA and the latter in the case of a CA.

Mayors must determine the terms and conditions of the appointment of Commissioners, and the terms and conditions must provide that the Commissioner’s work relates to one of the areas of competence.

There are nine areas of competence, which are set out in Section 2 of the 2026 Act. These are:

• transport and local infrastructure
• skills and employment support
• housing and strategic planning
• economic development and regeneration
• the environment and climate change
• health, well-being and public service reform
• public safety (which would include Police and Crime Commissioner, fire and rescue services)
• culture
• rural affairs and coastal communities.

On 16 April 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) published statutory guidance on “Appointing Mayoral Commissioners and setting/reporting allowances” (Guidance). This was updated on 9 June. The Guidance describes Commissioners as a “new leadership role” within CA/CCAs. The provisions in the 2026 Act and the Guidance are clear that the scope and activities to be undertaken by Commissioners are to be determined by the Mayor, but in consultation with members and officers of the CA/CCA as appropriate.

The precise brief of a Commissioner, and how it aligns to an area of competence, will depend on local circumstance but could include:

• the development/delivery of specific strategies, policies or reports
• convening and working with local partners and businesses
• representing the mayor at local, national or international forums and for interactions with the media
• chairing local boards or committees
• working with councillors (MHCLG’s guidance does not specify but we could assume that this will include liaising with councillors of the constituent councils)
• attending committee and other meetings of the Mayoral CA/CCAs.

Commissioners will act on behalf of, and as directed, by the Mayor within their areas of competence. This includes taking decisions on behalf of the Mayor where they have been delegated to a Commissioner. It follows that a Commissioner’s terms and conditions should allow a Mayor to change, remove or transfer a Commissioner’s function during the period of their appointment.

In Section 13 of their Guidance, MHCLG has set out some examples of how the appointment of a Commissioner could work in practice. Their example states that a Commissioner appointed to operate in the “economic development and regeneration” area of competence may oversee the authority’s investment pipeline and take a leading role in business engagement. They could be called the ‘Deputy Mayor for Business & Investment’.

Delegating functions to Commissioners

There are certain functions which cannot be delegated by the Mayor to the Commissioners, set out in Paragraph 6, Schedule 2A of LURA 2003 and Paragraph 6, Schedule 5BA of LDEDCA 2009. These include:

• approving the local growth plan;
• approving the local transport plan;
• approving the spatial development strategy;
• making or terminating the appointment of a person as a member of staff or holder of any office or role;
• function of a Police and Crime Commissioner that is exercisable by the Mayor or the Deputy Mayor for policing and crime; and
• fire and rescue functions.

A Mayor must obtain consent from the CA/CCA to any arrangements for a Commissioner to exercise a function, unless the Commissioner is being delegated functions that are exercisable only by the Mayor.

MHCLG’s Guidance specifies that the decision to delegate non-mayoral functions to a Commissioner should be discussed and voted on at a meeting of the authority’s board before a Commissioner is appointed.

The vote from the majority of members, including the Mayor, will be needed. This process applies if further delegation of non-mayoral functions to Commissioners takes place after their appointment. In relation to Mayoral functions, Mayors are expected to notify of their intention to delegate Mayoral functions to Commissioners at a meeting of the CA/CCAs and explain their reasoning.

When it comes to determining the scope and specification of the Commissioner’s role, the Mayor should work with officers of CA/CCAs to make this decision.

The process for selecting Commissioners

MHLCG’s Guidance provides that the recruitment process for Commissioners should involve “rigorously assessing potential candidates’ suitability for the role, including through a panel interview”. The interviewing panel should comprise, as a minimum, the Mayor (or nominee) and a statutory officer of the authority (such as the Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer or Section 73 Officer).

While Commissioners are expected to co-operate with officers and members of CA/CCAs, they are not elected members – but the term of their appointment will coincide with the Mayor’s term of office.

Government explained in their Guidance that Commissioners are different to officers because:

• an officers’ employment does not automatically end following a change of political administration
• officers are expected to consider the organisational interests of the CA/CCA impartially.

The Guidance contemplates that a Commissioner could be a salaried employee – and therefore officers of the CA/CCA – or could be remunerated through other arrangements to ensure they are paid equally, regardless of specific employment arrangements.

Involvement of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Paragraph 9, Schedule 2A of LURA 2003 and Paragraph 9, Schedule 5BA of LDEDCA 2009 provide that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee of an authority must have a power to recommend that an appointment of a Commissioner is terminated.

If the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committee exercises such power, and a recommendation to terminate is made, the authority must then vote on whether or not to accept the recommendation. A two-thirds majority of the non-mayoral members (excluding the Mayor) is required.

The Overview and Scrutiny Committee has the option of holding a hearing to scrutinise the nominee but this must be undertaken 28 working days from notification by the Mayor. Questions around maintaining public confidence, public money and managing potential conflicts of interest are expected to be the focus of a scrutiny hearing.

Codes of Conduct and other policies

MHCLG’s Guidance is very clear that Commissioners are expected to be held accountable to the same standards as others in the CA/CCA and their terms of appointment should ensure that they are subject to its Code of Conduct and any other relevant protocols.

It also emphasises the importance of Commissioners’ work being transparent. Commissioners will be subject to a framework of accountability, proper conduct and public scrutiny, as outlined above, with overview and scrutiny given a clear role within the CA/CCA’s existing governance arrangements.

CA/CCAs will need to consider how these arrangements with Commissioners will work in practice. Consideration will also need to be had to whether there needs to be any changes to the constitution more widely, such as standing order and procedure rules. This would also apply to any existing conflict of interests policies and members and officers relations protocols that CA/CCAs will have in place.

In preparation for the introduction of Commissioners, CA/CCAs should design and implement specific codes of conduct, declaration of conflict of interest policies and relations protocols to account for the new functions that the unique role of Commissioner is afforded.

The new scrutiny regime and how this applies to Commissioner

Section 11 and Schedule 4 of the 2026 Act insert the new Schedule 1A into LURA 2023 and Schedule 5AA to LDEDCA 2009 and introduce a new scrutiny regime for CAs and CCAs. Overview and Scrutiny Committees will have the power to investigate and make reports or recommendations on matters of local interest.

Also under Schedule 4, the Secretary of State has a power to make further provisions for Overview and Scrutiny committees which will have the style “local scrutiny committee”. These local scrutiny committees will have stronger oversight over local decision making, ensuring the Mayor and Commissioners are held to account.

MHCLG intends that this new regime will apply to all Established Mayoral CCAs and Established CAs from April 2027 and extended to all Mayoral CAs and CCAs from April 2028.

Under the new system, Commissioners will be automatically removed from post if, without reasonable excuse, they fail to attend six consecutive meetings of a local scrutiny committee, or six meetings within a 12-month period.

In addition, Commissioners could be fined up to £5000 if they refuse to attend a meeting of the committee, provide information, answer questions or mislead the committee.

CAs and CCAs will need to consider updates required to their Scrutiny Standing Orders and Procedure Rules to account for these changes.

Paying and reporting allowance for Commissioners

A CA/CCA also has the power to make a scheme providing for the payment of allowances to Commissioners.

However, the CA/CCA may only do so if it has considered a report published by a relevant remuneration panel containing such recommendation for allowances. The amounts of allowances shall not exceed the amounts specified in the scheme.

MHCLG’s Guidance suggests allowances payable for Commissioners and members undertaking special responsibilities be incorporated into a single (new or existing) scheme. It also states that the allowances payable for Commissioners should be determined and approved by the CA/CCA before publicly advertising for a Commissioner vacancy.

The scheme should also be reviewed and determined on an annual basis. The Guidance provides that the independent process for determining allowances for Commissioners should follow established practice in local government. This means that remunerable panels must consider what allowances are payable and the amounts.

Reporting should outline the methods and evidence used by the remuneration panel for making any recommendations. This can include examples of benchmarking of similar roles and responsibilities as well as considering relevant labour market conditions, such as the ability to attract and retain individuals with the necessary skills and experience.

Conclusion: what can Authorities do to prepare for the change?

Because Mayoral Commissioners are a new feature of CA/CCAs, authorities should now carefully consider how the role will operate in practice and how Commissioners will work alongside the Mayor, the Constituent Council Members, other members and officers.

Some practical steps include:

• Identifying the areas of competence where a Commissioner’s skills and expertise could assist in promoting the Authority’s policies;
• Considering the scope of the Commissioner’s role and whether the post will be a salaried appointment, and seek legal advice early in connection with employment law implications; and
• Reviewing its governance arrangements and its constitution to ensure it is compliant with changes, in particular considering implementing and designing specific codes of conduct, conflict of interest policies and scrutiny standing orders.

How Capsticks can help

As trusted advisors to local government organisations, Capsticks’ purpose is to deliver results that matter. The Local Government team appreciates the need to deliver efficiently and cost-effectively and has an in-depth understanding of the legislative and governance framework in which local authorities operate.

To discuss anything relating to the contents of this article or how the new Act will impact your organisation, contact Capsticks’ Head of Local Government Tiffany Cloynes, Legal Director Rebecca Gilbert or Principal Associate Megan Tam to find out more about how Capsticks can help.