Devolution and Levelling up

The Commission heard evidence from six expert witnesses on what role devolution and levelling up have in future trade deals. The Commission heard views on how international trade policy, a reserved matter, interacts with diverse range of devolved regulation. In the second panel of the session, Commissioners also explored how future trade deals can support the levelling up agenda.

The key findings of the report produced by the UKTBC were that:

a) It is necessary for a trading strategy to consider regional and local contexts for it to work for businesses across the UK.

b) Devolved governments are important stakeholders in trade policy, but the institutional structures that have been put in place to support their involvement are not effective in practice.

c) Brexit has impacted both devolution and regional growth across the UK.

Witnesses

PANEL 1:

STACEY DINGWALL, Head of Policy (Scotland), Federation of Small Businesses

BILLY MELO-ARAUJO, Senior Lecturer, Queen's University Belfast, School of Law

DR LUDIVINE PETETIN, Reader of Law, Cardiff University School of Law and Politics

PANEL 2:

PAUL SWINNEY, Director of Policy and Research, Centre for Cities

EMMA DEGG, Chief Executive, North West Business Leadership Team

PROFESSOR GRAEME ATHERTON, Head, Centre for Inequality and Levelling Up