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English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act

24th of July, 2026

UPDATES FROM THE ENGLISH DEVOLUTION AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ACT  

The newly enacted English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act introduces significant changes for parish and town councils, further strengthening their role within England’s evolving local governance landscape. 

The Act places a new legal duty on principal authorities to engage parish and town councils in shaping emerging neighbourhood governance arrangements. The government has also confirmed it will work directly with NALC, and therefore LALC & MALC, on the practical implementation of these duties. Alongside this, community governance guidance will be reviewed and a national neighbourhood governance framework published and, 25 Community Power Pilots are being established to co design future community involvement, supported by a £15m budget. 

The Act also delivers several reforms welcomed across the sector, including: 

  • Recognition for rural and coastal communities, now explicitly included within the competences of strategic authorities. 
  • Improved councillor privacy, with the removal of the automatic requirement to publish home addresses. 
  • A strengthened Community Right to Buy, giving local people and community bodies first refusal on community assets, introducing a right of appeal, and creating a new category for sporting assets of community value. 
  • Audit reforms for smaller authorities, enabling the Local Audit Office to design proportionate, risk based assurance regimes. 

The intention had been for community engagement guidance and pilot areas to be confirmed before the summer recess. However, recent changes at the top of government mean this timeline may now shift. 

At the NALC Conference in June, Baroness Taylor of Stevenage OBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, confirmed that although not included in the Act, Remote Meetings and Standards Regime reforms remain firmly on the government’s agenda. 

The Act, in full, can be seen here:  English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026