What is…devolution and a NE Mayor?

In this series, we're going to be looking at devolution - what it is, how it could work across the region, what powers a NE Mayor could have and so on. Our series continues with a brief look at: what...powers will the Mayor have?

As we saw in last month's What is...?, metro mayors (or combined authority mayors) are directly elected leaders of regions covering a number of local council areas. The Government believes the new mayor can champion the area, help bring investment into the region and represent local people in conversations with national Government.

To achieve this, this new office would have devolved power to:

control the Adult Education budget (approximately £1.8bn over 30 years or around £60m a year) allowing the mayor to develop training opportunities for local people. Additionally, the mayor will have more input into the Local Skills Improvement Plan, which will bring local businesses, colleges and training providers together to identify the skills needed to drive growth in the region.

control more than half a billion pounds to upgrade public transport through a new City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement with the additional power to bring the North East’s bus network under public control and/or introduce bus franchising.
accelerate the building of new homes on brownfield land with £69m of investment in housing and regeneration to unlock sites and bring forward new housing and commercial development.
control spatial planning - the strategic policies for the development and use of land in the area.

The government also expect the deal to include the creation of a green superport with the North East being granted the same trailblazer devolution status as that of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. If successful, government predictions are that 24,000 new jobs could be created by building on the 70,000 courses delivered per year improving skillsets which in turn could attract up to £5bn of private sector investment.

Following years of economic and social neglect, these proposals certainly sound appealing...

Series continues HERE with 'Who wants to be mayor?'

What is…devolution and a NE Mayor?

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