The Political and Constitutional Reform Committee of the House of Commons has recently decided to conduct an inquiry to explore constitutional and practical issues around the possibility of codifying (or formally writing down) the principles and mechanics of the relationship between central and local government in the UK.
The committee is now inviting submissions from interested bodies according to a set of questions, one of which is:
Are there examples of constitutional settlements between central and local government in other countries that are relevant to an appropriate model for the UK?
I have drawn the committee’s attention to Japan’s Local Autonomy Law (as issued under Japan’s Constitution, articles 92-95) and hope that both countries can engage over how best to determine the balance between localities and the national level.
