SFP CAPACITY BUILDING SESSION: DEVOLUTION AND REGIONAL WORKING

A launch and learning session introducing Sustainable Food Places' toolkit, Making Devolution Work for Food. The webinar will help local food partnerships in England understand the changing devolution landscape, identify where food can contribute to Strategic Authority priorities, and engage effectively with Combined Authorities.

The meeting link is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85053930688 

English devolution is creating a new and evolving layer of regional governance. The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act (2026), alongside changes to strategic planning and procurement, is changing the powers and opportunities available at regional scale. At the same time, SFP members are increasingly organising across Combined Authority geographies and asking how local food systems work should relate to these emerging structures.

Food Partnerships are perfectly placed to position themselves as evidence-led, food system experts to support their Strategic Authorities’ goals and ensure supply side and demand side solutions are understood and effectively implemented.

Making Devolution Work for Food is a practical working reference for food partnership coordinators engaging with English devolution. It is designed for places across the devolution spectrum: from areas preparing for new arrangements, through to established mayoral Strategic Authorities.

This event will feature:

• Elta Smith (Root & Reason, Chair of the Food Ethics Council)
  • Intro to Making Devolution Work for Food, a toolkit produced for SFP
• George Richmond (Strategy & Policy Officer, Food & Farming, York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority)
  • Food & Farming priorities and delivery mechanisms for York & North Yorkshire
• Elaine Morgan (Principal Strategy Officer, Greater Manchester Combined Authority)
  • The GM approach to embedding food within regional structures and priorities
• Panel Q&A