How Leeds is edging closer to a deal on devolution

On the final day of the Yorkshire Evening Post’s look at devolution, here they also give an insight into what is on the table.

For years on and off there has been talk of Leeds and the surrounding region being granted a devolution deal which never came to fruition, yet now West Yorkshire authorities have been asked to thrash out a deal before the current government’s first budget which is set to take place on March 11.

Talks

Chief officers from Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the other four authorities that would make up the devolved Leeds City Region have been in discussions since Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry opened formal negotiations during a visit to the city last month.

The difference this time, says Leeds City Council leader, Coun Judith Blake, is that the Treasury has been more involved. “We have been talking about devolution with the government for several years and have been very frustrated because government has failed to work through to achieve a deal with us,” she told the YEP.

“It is fair to say that we had productive talks with Simon Clarke [Exchequer Secretary] and Jake Berry.

While negotiations of the logistics, terms and money that would be included in the deal are still under consideration, Coun Blake revealed that it was expected to be based upon a gainshare formula and in line with other mayoral areas of the country that already have devolved powers.

See what the Tees Valley region has been doing with devolved powersIf an agreement can be made next month it would still be at least next year though before devolution was implemented as Mayoral elections are in May and the deal at that stage of 2020 will still be under consultation.

Projects?

However, the issues of transport, skills, housing and climate change would possibly feature in future projects.

Coun Blake explained: “It is a significant process that will need to be gone through to get to the point where the deal is signed and moved forward. It would involve a period of consultation and each of the local authorities in question would have to vote in favour.

“There are headline areas that have evolved since those original discussions but it is fair to say that transport and multi transit are very high on the agenda, skills and housing, and the new area that has really come up in the last few months is the whole area around climate emergency and decarbonisation.

“While we are focusing on the areas that we believe make the biggest difference to the people that live in our area, it is about creating sustainable jobs, making sure that young people and our workforce are able to get the skills, training and education that they need to be able to take these jobs.”

Boundaries

Another issue that features in the talks is the close proximity that West Yorkshire has to North Yorkshire and how – from demographic to nature – the two are “inextricably linked”.

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, who is chairman of WYCA as well as the leader of neighbouring Bradford Council, says there is a desire to include and maintain links and relationships with bordering authorities.

She said: “Both sides are willing to work at pace to get a deal done. I can’t predict the outcome of course but both sides are working at pace. Government is keen to get something before the budget and we will take the opportunity to do so.

“The footprint that we are talking about is the five West Yorkshire authorities (Calderdale, Bradford, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield). We have got strong relationships with North Yorkshire and North Yorkshire County Council, in fact that has always been an issue for the region.

“A lot of people in Harrogate and Craven come to Bradford and Leeds to work and feel very much part of the region. We have to find a way, regardless of boundary, to make sure we keep these strong connections.

“We are inextricably linked because we are such a densely populated area. And other things, like flooding, we have had huge issues over the weekend and that means North and West Yorkshire have to work together to tackle these issues.”

Social Inequality

Both leaders, who have publicly backed devolution for some years, say the process would also allow authorities to tackle issues that face residents in their every day lives.

Coun Hinchcliffe said: “Ever since I have been leader I have been keen to get devolution. I see the amount of money that goes to mayoral combined authorities but we have to bid for that. Under the Transforming Cities fund there was £1.6bn. Half went to mayoral authorities for them to spend on their local projects and we had to bid over the last two years to see what we could get out of it. It slows down progress and means someone in Whitehall is in charge when we know what needs doing.”

Coun Blake added: “It is very frustrating to be dependent on Whitehall. We have had experience of really good programmes working for people, only to have the funding taken off and we have to go back to the drawing board.

“The fact that we have had austerity for the last ten years is something that we feel aggrieved about. If we get more powers and more money from Whitehall devolved to our level, we can make decisions about how this is spent. That is a much more effective and efficient way to do business.”