Agenda item

The Committee will consider the latest progress on the devolution deal for West Yorkshire, particularly the draft Order currently being developed by Government.

Alan Reiss, Director for Policy, Strategy & Communications from the West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be in attendance.

The Committee received an update on the latest progress in respect of the devolution deal for West Yorkshire, with particular reference to the draft Order currently being developed by Government.

Julie Muscroft - Service Director, Legal, Governance and Commissioning; Alan Reiss - Director of Policy, Strategy and Communications, West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Nick Howe – Corporate Policy Officer, and Councillor Paul Davies - Kirklees representative, West Yorkshire Combined Authority Scrutiny Committee were in attendance for this item.

It was explained that, following the ‘minded to agree’ deal that had been signed in March 2020, a Scheme had been prepared which set out the proposed future arrangements for the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA). An eight-week public consultation on the Scheme had then taken place between May and July, which had received 4400 responses. The consultation results, along with further feedback from Leeds City Council and Kirklees Council, had been submitted to the Secretary of State, in September, to be taken into account when drafting the Order.

Each partner authority would be asked to agree to the final Order in November thus allowing it to be laid before Parliament before Christmas. The Order would then be made by January/February 2021, so that a mayoral election could take place in May 2021.

The deal would devolve a range of powers and significant long-term funding to the region, with the aim of giving people more control and greater freedom to decide their future. It would provide the region with a greater level of influence with Government to shape policy and offer the potential for further deals in the future.  The Combined Authority would gain access to funding streams equating to £1.8 billion of additional public funding, which would translate to a far greater impact on the economy and inclusive growth in West Yorkshire.

The process had been designed by Central Government and was set down in statute. It was believed that there had been a number of opportunities for Councils and the public to comment on the deal.

Questions and comments were invited from Committee Members and the following key issues were covered during discussion:

·       In response to a question about representation of all political groups, and thus the electorate, it was explained that the Combined Authority would comprise the Mayor and a representative appointed by each of the five constituent authorities plus non-voting members from City of York Council and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP). In addition, there would be 3 members appointed for political balance, based on the overall political make-up of the region. Although this meant that not all political parties would be represented, WYCA would be the only Combined Authority in the country where this wider formal voting representation was in place. It was also anticipated that there would be at least as many positions on Combined Authority Committees as currently and this provided opportunities for other Elected Members to be represented and  involved. Further engagement would be a decision for the Mayor.

·       The proposals for scrutiny were draft at this stage and would be considered by the WYCA Scrutiny Committee on 13^th November.

·       In respect of responsibility for climate change, it was anticipated that the existing advisory Green Economy Panel, which advised the Combined Authority on policy, would remain, although this would be subject to review in the future. Climate change was one of the Combined Authority’s current top 4 priorities.

·       The Scheme enabled two Deputy Mayor positions. The first would carry out the mayoral functions when the Mayor was absent and this individual would have to be a member of the Combined Authority. The second would hold responsibility for a number of the functions currently held by the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and would be appointed by the Mayor. PCC functions would be scrutinised by the Police and Crime Panel in a similar way to currently.

·       The Combined Authority would be required to adopt an Investment Strategy setting out the broad principles of how funding would be spent. Members would have the chance to scrutinise the development of this document. Final decisions on spending would be undertaken in the public domain.

·       The finance would be allocated using a strategic approach rather than an equal split between all the partner authorities. There would be opportunities for schemes to be developed in partnership.

·       In respect of the additional feedback submitted by Kirklees, following a discussion at Council in September 2020; it was explained that

o   this report aimed to address the issues raised in respect of scrutiny of implementation of the deal and a letter had been sent to Scrutiny Chairs to update them on this issue.

o   The Spatial Development Strategy would set out the high-level principles and common areas of planning policy across the region. It would have to be approved for adoption by the Combined Authority with a positive vote from each representative of all five constituent local authorities.  It would be developed using a bottom-up, collaborative approach and the ambition was to build upon Local Plans and enhance the work to address the climate emergency already being undertaken across the region.

·       A report would be presented to Kirklees Corporate Governance and Audit Committee in respect of local arrangements for decision-making and Members would have the opportunity to feedback and comment on the proposals. The report would include case studies and look at the issues of veto and exercise of concurrent powers, with the aim of ensuring that appropriate checks and balances were in place.

·       Combined Authority Working parties were considering how to take scrutiny forward and this was an opportunity for the views of Kirklees Members to be fed into this process. There was a desire to enhance and broaden scrutiny and ensure that it could influence decisions going forward.

The following conclusions were highlighted:

·       Consideration needed to be given to how decisions going through at Combined Authority level could be made visible to all elected members within the constituent authorities, to ensure transparency and accountability.

·       There needed to be a strong emphasis on pre-decision scrutiny and involvement of Members at a much earlier stage; this would also help in terms of transparency.

·       There should be opportunities for both elected members and members of the public to engage and be able to put direct questions to the Mayor/Combined Authority.

·       Climate change should be a key focus.

·       Each constituent local authority would determine its own local arrangements for decision-making. This would include matters such as the approval of the Spatial Development Strategy. In Kirklees, it was considered that this should be done through submission to full Council.

Resolved –

That the progress made in respect of the devolution process in West Yorkshire be noted.