Localism Act 2011

Localism Act 2011
Act of Parliament
	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act to make provision about the functions and procedures of local and certain other authorities; to make provision about the functions of the Commission for Local Administration in England; to enable the recovery of financial sanctions imposed by the Court of Justice of the European Union on the United Kingdom from local and public authorities; to make provision about local government finance; to make provision about town and country planning, the Community Infrastructure Levy and the authorisation of nationally significant infrastructure projects; to make provision about social and other housing; to make provision about regeneration in London; and for connected purposes.
Citation	2011 c. 20
Introduced by	Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Commons); Baroness Hanham (Lords)
Territorial extent	England and Wales; Scotland (in part); Northern Ireland (in part);
Dates
Royal assent	15 November 2011
Commencement	various
Other legislation
Amends	Land Compensation Act 1961; House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975; Rent Act 1977; Protection from Eviction Act 1977; Town and Country Planning Act 1990; Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990; Planning (Hazardous Substances) Act 1990; Water Industry Act 1991; Water Resources Act 1991; Social Security Administration Act 1992; Police Act 1996; Terrorism Act 2000; Land Registration Act 2002; Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004; Housing Act 2004; National Health Service Act 2006; Planning Act 2008;
Repeals/revokes	London Development Agency Act 2003;
Amended by	Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014; Infrastructure Act 2015; Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016; Policing and Crime Act 2017; Wales Act 2017; Sentencing Act 2020; Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023; Non-Domestic Rating Act 2023; Renters' Rights Act 2025; Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025;
Status: Amended
History of passage through Parliament
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended
Text of the Localism Act 2011 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Localism Act 2011 (c. 20) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that changes the powers of local government in England. The aim of the act is to facilitate the devolution of decision-making powers from central government control to individuals and communities. The measures affected by the act include an increase in the number of elected mayors, referendums and the "Local authority’s general power of competence" (Part 1, chapter 1) which states "A local authority has power to do anything that individuals generally may do".

Although the act was envisaged as having the potential to bring about wide-scale decentralisation, there have been few significant examples of its implementation. One notable outcome of the act has been the further transfer of powers of combined authorities formed by local authorities pooling their powers of transport and economy and gaining certain functions delegated from central government. As a result, there have been calls for legislation to bring about further devolution to the Core Cities Group, leading to the introduction of the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016.