Agenda item

North East Devolution

1.1     On 28 December 2022 HM Government announced a “minded to” devolution deal with the seven councils across the North East (i.e. Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Councils).

1.2     The deal would see a significant shift of powers, funding and responsibility which would enable the Councils to pursue their ambitions for inclusive growth.  In total, it would provide £4.2 billion of additional investment to the region over 30 years, including a £1.4bn investment fund alongside significant funding for transport, education and skills, housing and regeneration.  This will enable investment into projects which reflect local needs and opportunities, making a real difference for our residents, communities, and the local economy. 

1.3     To implement the deal, the Councils will need to establish a new mayoral combined authority which covers the area of the seven Councils and replaces the two existing combined authorities in the region. This report sets out the findings of a statutory review regarding these proposed governance changes and, if Cabinet are satisfied that the relevant criteria have been met, recommends that the proposals are subject to public consultation (Appendix F).

North East Devolution

On 28 December 2022 HM Government announced a “minded to” devolution deal with the seven councils across the North East (i.e. Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland Councils).

The deal would see a significant shift of powers, funding and responsibility which would enable the Councils to pursue their ambitions for inclusive growth.  In total, it would provide £4.2 billion of additional investment to the region over 30 years, including a £1.4bn investment fund alongside significant funding for transport, education and skills, housing and regeneration.  This would enable investment into projects which reflected local needs and opportunities, making a real difference for residents, communities, and the local economy. 

To implement the deal, the Councils would need to establish a new mayoral combined authority which covered the area of the seven Councils and replaced the two existing combined authorities in the region. The report set out the findings of a statutory review regarding these proposed governance changes and, if Cabinet were satisfied that the relevant criteria had been met, recommended that the proposals were subject to public consultation.

The Leader reported that all constituent councils were in agreement. The amount of funding on the table was much greater than under other arrangements and the existing North of Tyne Combined Authority had already received significant funding.

The Leaders were working well together, and he was comfortable that mayoral input would also work. The plan was for all members to be fully briefed on the issues and residents would be consulted through LAC meetings. The Interim Chief Executive advised that consultation would commence online on 23 January for 8 weeks across all Authorities. Individual authorities could carry out additional consultation if they wished.

Members were advised that Newcastle and North Tyneside Councils had approved the proposals the day before.

RESOLVED that:-

(a)      Cabinet endorse in principle the “minded to” devolution deal (see Appendix 1, Annex A);

(b)      Cabinet agree with the findings of the governance review (Appendix 1), namely that the proposed creation of a new mayoral combined authority for the North East region to replace the existing combined authorities will improve the exercise of statutory functions across the region;

(c)      Cabinet agree that the North East Councils shall publish a scheme for the delivery of these governance changes (the current draft of which scheme is attached as Appendix 1, Annex B);

(d)      Cabinet agree that the North East Councils shall undertake public consultation in connection with the proposals contained in the scheme as described in section 8.3 and 8.4 of the report;

(e)      Cabinet agree that the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of Council, be authorised to take all steps necessary to implement the above proposals, including (but not limited to) making amendments to the draft scheme and the consultation exercise;

(f)       Cabinet note that a further report will be brought to Cabinet at the end of that consultation exercise; and

(g)      Cabinet exempt the decision from the Call In process pursuant to the Overview and Scrutiny Rules of Procedure, part 5.4, 15 (10) of the Constitution of the Council on the basis that the decision Cabinet is being asked to make is urgent.