Institution of Civil Engineers State of the Nation Devolution Survey

Survey of English adults on behalf of ICE about their attitudes towards devolution in England and devolving responsibility for decisions locally

A new ICE poll conducted by ComRes highlights the appetite for devolution of some powers in England from central to local government.

The survey found that:

• Two in five English adults say that devolution of powers from central government in Westminster to local areas is likely to have a positive impact on local services – double the proportion who say negative (38% v 17%).
• There is general positive sentiment towards devolution in England, and local people voting on devolution, however attitudes are more divided towards linking devolution to elected Mayors.
• The impact of devolution is broadly seen to be positive; English adults are almost twice as likely to disagree as agree that devolution will make local services less efficient (47% v 26%).
• A majority of English adults say that bus franchising and decisions on which bus company should provide a bus service should be made by local government (76% v 14%).

Date Published: 25/02/2016

Categories: Economy | Energy | GB | Infrastructure | Politics | Public and communities | Social | Transport

Client: Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)

Methodology

ComRes interviewed 1,724 English adults online between 5^thand 7^th February 2016. Data were weighted to be representative of all adults in England aged 18+.

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