Devolution deal met with disappointment across West Yorkshire

THE long-awaited deal of devolution for West Yorkshire was greeted with a mixture of disappointment and disdain last night.

Chancellor George Osborne confirmed the deal in the Budget, which will give West Yorkshire Combined Authority more power over investment decisions on skills, transport, housing and support for small businesses.

But it is not on the scale of Manchester’s initial devolution deal, nor has it justified the delayed announcement as negotiations continued.

“The deal is disappointing and doesn’t match the scale of our ambition,” said Cllr Peter Box, chairman of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

“It undermines the Government’s claim to want a strong Northern powerhouse. If we are to turn that into a reality we need real devolution, including fiscal devolution, to enable us to bring about a step change in the City Region’s economy.”

One of the sticking points is the city region’s unwillingness to adopt a metro mayor model, which has frustrated Leeds City Council leader Cllr Keith Wakefield.

“This does not match our ambitions for the people of Leeds and the city region,” he said. “We were promised by the Deputy Prime Minister that there would be no strings attached in relation to governance models so we are disappointed by the lack of devolution on transport and housing investment powers.

“Additionally, given that our Devolved Youth Contract is getting eight out of 10 young people into work compared with three out of 10 on national programmes it’s no surprise that this deal rightly gives us more influence over skills and apprenticeships.

“However, it is no compensation for the £470m of cuts that our councils have had to deliver and it falls far short of our ambition to shape our own economic destiny and create the 62,000 jobs that the people and businesses of Leeds and the city region need.
 
“We have demonstrated we have the appetite and ability to deliver far more to improve our economy. We shall continue to lobby and campaign for the greater powers and resources, including fiscal powers, that we need to achieve our ambitions and start the process of tackling the north-south economic divide.”

However there is a belief that this initial deal can be improved upon.

Tony Reeves, local authority advisory partner at Deloitte, suggests that the Chancellor remains committed to the Northern Powerhouse concept and will continue to devolve power to the regions if he remains in position after the general election.

He said: “The Chancellor’s last budget before the general election signals the intent of this Government, if re-elected, to put devolution in general and Northern economic growth at the heart of its regional programme in the next parliament.

“The signal that this is “as well as” rather than “instead of” continued investment in London is encouraging because when it comes down to major resource allocation successive governments have found it extremely hard to resist the economic case for investment in the capital.”