West Yorkshire devolution takes a step forward

The process to bring West Yorkshire’s £1.8 billion devolution deal into law will is moving forward as the region’s five councils, plus the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, formally consider the outcomes of a public consultation on the deal.

The consultation which saw a total of 4,413 responses, making it the largest ever public consultation on English regional devolution, saw most people support all of the proposals including establishing a directly elected mayor for the region.

The findings will be discussed in public at virtual meetings where the councils and the Combined Authority will be asked to agree to submit a summary of the findings to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick MP, marking the start of the parliamentary process that should culminate in voters electing the first ever West Yorkshire Mayor in May 2021.

In a joint statement, West Yorkshire’s five council Leaders, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe (Bradford), Cllr Tim Swift (Calderdale), Cllr Shabir Pandor (Kirklees), Cllr Judith Blake (Leeds) and Cllr Denise Jeffery (Wakefield) thanked everyone who had taken part in the consultation and said, “The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted, more than ever, why it’s important that decisions which affect local people are taken locally, by people who understand local communities and are accountable to residents. Devolution means that more of these vital decisions will be taken here in West Yorkshire and will provide greater investment to help our region recover from the pandemic.

“It’s encouraging, therefore, that most people who responded to the consultation support the proposals on the table. We will be taking just as much interest, however, in some of the other comments provided so that the way we approach devolution in West Yorkshire truly addresses local people’s concerns. In particular we are pleased that funding has been provided through this deal for the Yorkshire Leaders Board to continue collaborating on a Yorkshire-wide basis on a number of key issues.”