Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner have met England’s regional mayors to discuss “shifting power out of Westminster”.

The UK has had devolved governments since the late 1990s, which work alongside the Westminster Parliament.

There are different types of devolution across the UK’s nations and parts of England.

For many years England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were run by the UK government, based in Westminster in London, but there were growing calls to transfer some of this power to Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Public votes about devolution were held in 1997 in Scotland and Wales, and on both sides of the Northern Irish/Irish border in 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

This led to the creation of three elected institutions:

• the Scottish Parliament
• the National Assembly for Wales (now called the Senedd)
• the Northern Ireland Assembly.

A number of mayoral posts have also been introduced in England, with varying powers.

Speaking ahead of her meeting with the mayors, Ms Rayner said that “for too long” Westminster had “tightly gripped control” and “held back opportunities for towns, cities and villages across the UK”.

Sir Keir said the government will let “those with skin in the game – those that know their communities – make much better decisions”.

Mayors will be required to draw up local plans to boost economic growth, which is one of the new government’s five “missions”.

The UK government in Westminster remains responsible for policies which affect just England, as well as overall policy in a number of areas.

These include defence and national security, foreign policy, immigration, citizenship and tax – although Scotland has its own powers to raise and lower income tax.

The Scottish Parliament sits at Holyrood in Edinburgh. There are 129 elected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

Scotland already had its own legal and education system. After devolution, it became responsible for many other areas, including:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Housing
• Justice, policing and courts
• Local government
• Some transport
• Taxes including income tax, stamp duty and air passenger duty
• Some welfare powers

Its powers were extended in 2012, after the 2014 referendum on whether Scotland should become independent, and again in 2016 through the Scotland Act.

The Scottish National Party (SNP), which has formed the Scottish government at Holyrood since 2007, continues to argue for full independence.

The Senedd’s responsibilities include:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Education
• Environment
• Health and social care
• Housing
• Local government
• Highways and transport
• Some control over income tax, stamp duty and landfill tax
• Welsh language

The Northern Ireland Assembly sits at Stormont in Belfast. There are 90 elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs).

Devolution in Northern Ireland is different to Scotland and Wales, with government powers divided into three categories:

• Transferred powers controlled by the Northern Ireland Assembly
• Reserved powers remain with Westminster, but could be transferred in the future if the Northern Ireland Executive wants them. These include prisons and civil defence
• Excepted powers cannot be moved to Stormont without special laws being made in Westminster. They include elections and national defence

Stormont’s main powers include:

• Agriculture
• Education
• Environment and planning
• Health and social services
• Local government
• Justice, policing and prisons
• Control over air passenger duty
• Transport
• Culture, language and sport

Over the past 20 years, more powers have been given to local and regional mayors in areas like transport and housing.

The Mayor of London was the first role of this kind, created alongside the London Assembly, after a referendum in 1998.

The London mayor decides how much money to spend and sets priorities in some key areas.

They can set bus and Tube fares, and decide targets for the number of affordable homes.

• 13 local authority mayors, who typically have the same powers as local authorities, which have a council leader instead of a mayor (with some exceptions)
• 11 metro mayors, who can set out plans to boost their local economy and have some powers over housing and transport

Norfolk and Suffolk are expected to introduce mayors in May 2025.

Local authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland are not covered by the legislation that introduced the different types of elected mayors in England.