The Budget names a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Hertfordshire among 10 deals near agreement. Stevenage and the county council both say they back it.
Hertfordshire is on course to elect its own mayor. Today’s Budget lists a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Hertfordshire among 10 new devolution agreements the government says it is in the “final stages of agreeing”, and the leaders of Stevenage Borough Council and three neighbouring councils have called it “fantastic news for our towns and villages”. Hertfordshire County Council, whose headquarters is Robertson House on Six Hills Way in Stevenage, says it is ready to finalise the deal “as soon as possible”.
The joint statement, sent to Stevenage Today by Stevenage Borough Council this afternoon, comes from the leaders of Stevenage, North Herts, Hertsmere and Welwyn Hatfield councils.
What the Budget says
The Budget 2026 document, published today by the Treasury, names the areas:
“The government is now in the final stages of agreeing 10 new devolution agreements: Mayoral Strategic Authorities for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay; Hertfordshire; Lancashire; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Stoke and Staffordshire; Surrey; Thames Valley (Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Swindon); and Wessex.”
The other two are a Strategic Authority for Kent and Medway, which will only have a mayor if Kent’s council reorganisation allows it, and a Foundation Strategic Authority for Cornwall without one. Hertfordshire carries no such condition: it is listed as mayoral outright.
The next step, the document says, is that the government “will now work with the relevant councils to launch local consultations with key stakeholders”. No date for that consultation, or for a first mayoral election, has been published.
What the councils say
The four leaders’ statement in full:
“Following today’s Budget, we are delighted that the Chancellor John Healey has confirmed that the government will be bringing power and funding closer to communities in Hertfordshire, through a new Mayoral Strategic Authority.
“This is fantastic news for our towns and villages. It means we will be able to invest in local priorities like building more council homes, investing in transport, attracting new jobs for local people, and giving more powers to local communities to create a bright future.
“We have been working with all our local partners, with MPs and with Government to make the case for a Mayor for Hertfordshire for two years, to secure the powers, freedoms and funding for our communities. This is a great result for our towns and Hertfordshire.”
Stevenage Borough Council’s leader is Councillor Richard Henry. The statement does not carry the names of the county’s six other district and borough councils.
What the county council says
Hertfordshire County Council issued its own statement later this afternoon. It describes the mayoral authority as “a significant opportunity to unlock growth, investment and opportunity for communities across the county”, and says leaders and partners across Hertfordshire have “long made the case for greater devolution”.
Councillor Steve Jarvis, leader of the county council and chair of the Hertfordshire Growth Board, said:
“This is positive development for Hertfordshire, and an important step towards unlocking the county’s full potential. We are ready to work with Government and our partners to finalise the agreement of a Mayoral Strategic Authority as soon as possible so that the residents and businesses Hertfordshire can start to benefit.
“Hertfordshire is already a place of national importance, with an economy of over £50 billion and world leading strengths in life sciences, film and creative industries, defence, advanced engineering, space, clean growth and digital innovation.
“Devolution gives us the opportunity to build on those strengths by bringing greater powers and investment closer to Hertfordshire and giving us a stronger voice nationally. With their powers, investment fund and democratic mandate, a mayor can provide both the convening influence and strategic leadership needed to join up decisions on growth, infrastructure, transport, housing and skills and turn our ambitions into delivery.”
He said the case had been made jointly, with “the County Council and Hertfordshire Growth Board working alongside local government, business, health and other partners”, and added:
“Our ambition is for good, inclusive growth that benefits every part of Hertfordshire. We want to create new opportunities for all our residents and businesses thrive and ensure that prosperity reaches communities that have not always shared equally in Hertfordshire’s success.”
The county council serves the 1.2 million people who live in Hertfordshire, its statement says. Like the four district leaders, it gives no date for the consultation or for an election.
What a mayor would get
The Budget sets out what is coming to mayoral authorities in general. None of it is a figure for Hertfordshire yet:
- Business rates: mayors receive 20% of business rates revenue from April 2027, the Treasury’s regional fact sheet says.
- Income tax: a share of income tax receipts goes to all mayors from 2028.
- A visitor levy: from 2028, mayors and other Strategic Authorities get the power to introduce an overnight visitor levy.
- Start-up money: £150 million in 2027-28 for Strategic Authorities to build the staff and expertise to run the new powers, and a £120 million share of Good Growth Fund incubator capital for areas moving towards a devolution deal.
How this fits with the council merger
This is a separate plan from the one that would have abolished Stevenage Borough Council. In July the government confirmed four new unitary councils for Hertfordshire, with Stevenage going into Central Hertfordshire in April 2028. On 7 September that was paused under a national review, with no date for the review to report.
A Mayoral Strategic Authority would work across the whole county alongside the councils, and the priorities the four leaders name for it are council homes, transport and jobs. For now, nothing changes for residents: Stevenage Borough Council still runs bins, housing and planning in the town, and Hertfordshire County Council still runs schools, social care and the roads.
We will report the consultation dates when they are published.
Sources
- Joint statement from the leaders of Stevenage Borough Council, North Herts Council, Hertsmere Borough Council and Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, issued by Stevenage Borough Council, 28 October 2026.
- Hertfordshire County Council, “Hertfordshire welcomes positive step forward on devolution”, 28 October 2026, for Councillor Jarvis’s statement, the £50 billion economy figure and the 1.2 million population.
- HM Treasury, Budget 2026, published 28 October 2026, for the 10 devolution agreements, the next steps and the £150 million and £120 million figures.
- HM Treasury, Budget 2026 Fact Sheet: Delivering for Every Region, published 28 October 2026, for business rates, income tax and the visitor levy.
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