Liverpool City Region
The Combined Authority
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) was established in 2014. It comprises six councils – Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral – and has a population of 1.5 million.
The mayor of the LCRCA, Steve Rotherham was elected for a second term in May 2021. He was MP for Liverpool Walton and is a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool.
The combined authority comprises the six councils. There are three non-voting members of the authority, including the LEP chair and Police and Crime Commissioner. Warrington and West Lancashire Councils are associate members of the combined authority.
Ten portfolios are allocated between the mayor and senior councillors including business, inclusive economy, housing and spatial framework and low carbon. Action is not being taken to ensure that leaders are better supported in their roles as combined authority portfolio holders.
The authority has four committees including a transport committee. It is represented on a number of outside bodies, including the Transport for North Partnership Board. The local enterprise partnership has been incorporated into the LCRCA’s constitution.
Maintaining close relationships with the constituent councils is a key priority for the combined authority. There are regular political meetings between the mayors and leaders, the chief executives currently meet twice a week (once on COVID-19 matters) and there are meetings of the mayors, leaders and chief executives. Other groups include growth directors and council policy leads. On housing, for example, there is a housing officers group which feeds into the combined authority’s housing and spatial planning board. The board is chaired by the leader of Knowsley as portfolio holder.
Since the election of the Metro Mayor in 2017 the combined authority has grown as an employer and has recruited approximately 250 staff, which adding in the pre-existing cohort of Merseytravel Transport focussed staff, has resulted in an organisation of over 950 staff.
The devolution deal and priorities
The LCRCA has negotiated two devolution deals. The first, agreed in November 2015, included devolved funding of £30 million a year over 30 years to be invested in the Liverpool City Region Single Investment Fund, a multi-year consolidated local transport budget and devolved 19+ adult skills funding from 2018/19. The deal gave the combined authority powers over strategic planning and transport, including responsibility to create a Single Statutory City Region Framework and the ability to franchise bus services. The second devolution deal was agreed in March 2016. It builds upon the previous agreement with additional powers and responsibilities in seven core areas including business; children’s services; housing; apprenticeships; transport; and justice.
The combined authority’s priorities reflect the contents of the devolution deals and are summarised below.
Transport
The combined authority has pursued a number of initiatives to increase bus use and satisfaction, including MyTicket which gives young people aged between five and 18 unlimited day travel across Merseyside. The combined authority also funds half-priced bus travel for all apprentices aged between 19-24. Other transport investments include: £460 million for a new fleet of publicly owned trains; allocating £25 million for 15 highway schemes; and the development of a 600km network of cycling and walking routes over the next 10 years.
Energy and environment
LCRCA has a goal of becoming a zero-carbon city region by 2040. To achieve this, it is working to provide zero-carbon homes, low-emission transport, and renewable energy such as hydrogen power. The combined authority has set up an Air Quality Task Force made up of representatives from the city region’s six local authorities to advise on this work.
Skills and apprenticeships
The combined authority is currently responsible for the Adult Education Budget (AEB), the Skills Capital Fund, and the households into work scheme. In addition, the combined authority has launched a new apprenticeship portal ‘Be More’ to promote opportunities to prospective apprentices. This sits alongside a ‘Youth Impact’ group which, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, gives young people a platform to talk about issues that are important to them.
Digital
The city region aspires to be the most digitally connected region in the UK. It is home to several important digital assets including the most powerful supercomputer in the UK based at the Hartree Centre in Halton and the UK’s main trans-Atlantic fibre optic cables which run through Southport. The combined authority has worked together with its constituent councils and the LCR LEP to develop the LCR Digital Strategy & Action Plan (2021-2023). It focuses on six core digital priorities, including: Digital Infrastructure and Connectivity; Tech for Good & a Smart City Region; Digital and CreaTech Sector Development; Cross-Sector Digitalisation & AI; Digital Skills for Recovery & Growth and; Digital Inclusion.
Culture
Culture and the creative arts are an important aspect of LCR’s identity. The City Region was the first in the UK to commit to spending the equivalent of 1 per cent of its annual £30 million devolution funding to support cultural activities. In 2008 Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture. More recently, the city hosted the ‘Culture and Creativity Awards’ celebrating diverse creative activity in the arts, business, research, community and voluntary sectors. The combined authority is establishing a National Migration Museum to reflect on its rich cultural heritage and is working with government to develop a sustainable business model for National Museums Liverpool.
Housing and spatial planning
The LCRCA is committed to delivering affordable, energy efficient and well-designed housing. Since 2016 it has delivered 11,000 new homes and plans to deliver an additional 20,000 homes over the next five years. The combined authority aims to address the needs of its ageing population by making housing more accessible and ensuring that it can be adapted throughout an occupier’s lifecycle. It is also acting to tackle deprivation by regenerating the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods. The combined authority is working with councils and housing associations to improve the supply and quality of housing, using its Strategic Investment Fund to lever private and public investment for the most vulnerable communities.
Homelessness
A key priority is tackling homelessness across the city region. The combined authority piloted the ‘Housing First’ programme with 60 service users as part of the Government’s national strategy to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness. Many of the people taking part in the pilot have complex needs and have been homeless for a significant period of time. So far, the programme has helped 48 people out of the 60 to find housing. The authority has built on the pilot by increasing its staffing capacity and setting up new Housing First teams based in the councils to provide one to one support for service users.
Impact
The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is widely seen to have had had a significant impact on the area in hard and soft terms.
The hard impact is attributed to the benefits of the £900 million devolution deal including the gain share element. One example of this hard impact is the Shakespeare North Playhouse, due in open in Prescot, Knowsley, in summer 2020. At is core will be a 350-seat theatre modelled on the “cockpit-in-court” design. Other examples of the combined authority’s hard impact include:
- £173 million in Transforming Cities Funding to modernise and improve travel across the city region
- a share of £300 million to connect Liverpool to the HS2 network, which will also link to Crossrail for the North
- greater collaboration across LCR’s councils allowing for more consensus on key decisions.
The combined authority’s soft impact is widely attributed to the role of the mayor in three important respects. First, his visibility locally including his role as the voice of the city region during the pandemic. Second, his ability to convene discussions. Third, the mayor’s access to ministers enabling significantly improved communication between government, the combined authority and the constituent councils.
Tees Valley Combined Authority
The combined authority
The Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) was established in 2016. It comprises five councils – Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees – and has a population of 675,900. The establishment of the combined authority followed a long period of collaboration and joint working between the councils.
The mayor of TVCA, Ben Houchen, was elected for a second term in May 2021. He was formerly a councillor on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
The combined authority cabinet comprises the mayor of the combined authority plus the leaders or mayors of the constituent councils, plus the chair of the LEP (who is a non-voting member). The other members of the LEP Board are associate members of the combined authority.
Five portfolios are allocated between the members of the authority and cover: transport, education and skills, business growth, culture and tourism and inward investment.
The combined authority has three other statutory committees; Overview & Scrutiny Committee, Audit & Governance Committee and Transport Committee. The LEP is fully integrated into the combined authority with a single constitution and assurance framework. The authority’s relationship with Transport for the North is also seen as being important.
The TVCA has a number of advisory groups comprising key stakeholders which contribute to strategy development and delivery. Relations with constituent councils are underpinned by a network of formal and informal structures. There are multiple conversations with the councils before decisions are taken to the board.
The TVCA had a total staffing budget of £3.9 million in 2020-21 and employs around 130 people including a four-person mayoral office and a four-person senior leadership team.
The devolution deal and priorities
The tight focus of the mayor and the authority on enabling economic growth is seen as being an important distinguishing feature of the authority. This is reflected in its devolution deal, agreed in 2015, which focused on employment and skills, transport, planning, and investment from central government to Tees Valley. The deal gave the mayor powers in relation to:
- a devolved consolidated transport budget
- the creation of new Mayoral Development Corporations and leadership of a land commission to examine what publicly owned land and other key strategic sites should be vested in the development corporation
- the creation of a Tees Valley Investment Fund
- a new £15 million a year funding allocation over 30 years
- the comprehensive review and redesign of the education, skills and employment support system in Tees Valley; resulting in devolution of the Adult Education Budget and Level 3 funding-approximately £31.5 million per annum
- a devolved approach to business support to be developed in partnership with government.
The Tees Valley Strategic Economic Plan identifies an ambition to deliver an additional 25,000 jobs by 2026 and an additional £2.8 billion of GVA. The local industrial strategy (local draft agreed July 2019) further sets out priorities for Tees Valley to be a global leader in Clean Energy, Low Carbon and Hydrogen. To achieve a net zero carbon industrial cluster by 2040, providing good jobs, with long term prospects that local people can access.
Education, employment & skills
The TVCA’s ‘Inspiring Our Future’ strategy seeks to transform education, employment and skills in the area with an aim to host 133,000 jobs by 2024. Through the Routes to Work programme the authority has supported over 3,420 long-term unemployed individuals, with around 670 being helped into employment. Through the devolved adult education budget, £58.3 million has been allocated to 31 Tees Valley Training Providers, with 15,000 learners participating in adult learning in 2020/21 with a further 22,300 enrolments supported.
The creation of the development corporation for the Teesworks site has enabled rapid development of the site and the creation of the Teesworks Skills Academy that will provide a single point of access for the site’s employers and their supply chains to access a readily available and skilled workforce. The Skills Academy links with training providers, Jobcentre Plus and local employment hubs to link people looking for work and requiring skills development to the appropriate employers.
Supporting business growth
Tees Valley is home to 17,610 businesses of which 17,520 are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Tees Valley Business, the new business gateway service, was launched by TVCA in July 2020 and provides businesses with a single point of access to the full range of business support that is available to Tees Valley businesses. Tees Valley Business provides information, diagnostic and brokerage into specific programmes of support based on tailored needs assessments, supporting businesses as they move forward through their development journey and the business lifecycle. In 2020-21 Tees Valley Business provided information, advice and direct support to 1,500 businesses and also provided in excess of 1,000 grants to businesses to the value of £16 million.
Innovation and clean growth
The TVCA has championed the case for low carbon approaches to production as a means of meeting carbon reduction targets through industrial decarbonisation and improving long term competitiveness. The area already benefits from a strong network of established innovation assets such as the Centre for Process Innovation, The Materials Processing Institute and TWI. Likewise, Teesside University are also well integrated into the regional innovation system and help provide academic-business knowledge exchange. To build on this, the combined authority aims to attract new investment, introduce new processes and practices which reduce carbon emissions, increase productivity and the availability of high value jobs - to help achieve their ambition of becoming a high value, low carbon, diverse and inclusive economy.
Transport & infrastructure
As a polycentric region, covering five distinct areas, supporting the movement of people across the region to access work, learning, culture and leisure opportunities is essential for future economic success of Tees Valley. Connectivity with other parts of the UK is also key including links across the Northern Powerhouse. Ensuring the future viability of Teesside International Airport as a catalyst for wider economic growth has also been a priority for the combined authority.
Creative place
TVCA’s Growth Programme for the creative and visitor economies supports and helps create a broad spectrum of jobs across the sectors and in the wider economy. Through its investment in these important sectors, TVCA hopes to ensure a vibrant, creative and nourishing lived experience of place for local residents; a dynamic and attractive working and investment ready environment; and an appealing, engaging and welcoming experience for visitors.
Through its Culture and Tourism Programme, TVCA is leading a number of programmes and initiatives, including the 2021 Rugby World Cup and the Stockton and Darlington Railway Heritage Programme.
Impact
The TVCA is seen as having had a significant impact on the area, most notably: the creation of the Mayoral Development Corporation; the return of the airport to public ownership; being identified as one of the first places to create a Freeport as part of a new government policy; and the Government’s decision to relocate part of the Treasury and DIT to Darlington.
The South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) covers approximately 4,500 acres of land to the south of the River Tees including a former SSI steelworks site as well as other industrial assets. This is the UK’s largest and best-connected industrial zone for investment opportunities in sustainable, low-carbon and clean energy sectors. The redevelopment of the site, Teesworks, has already generated around 690 jobs and is expected to deliver 775 more by the end of the programme.
The return to public ownership of Teesside International Airport reinforced efforts to secure a domestic route to London. It has also enabled economic growth – for example, global aviation firm Willis Asset Management Limited chose Teesside International as its location for a European aircraft maintenance base to carry out maintenance, storage and disassembly of a wide variety of commercial aircraft types.
In the March 2021 Budget, the government announced its support for plans to establish a freeport in the Tees Valley. The 4,500-acre site is the largest in the UK. It is envisaged that it will enable the creation of 18,000 jobs and provide a £3.2 billion boost to the local economy over the next five years. The Government also announced plans for the Treasury’s new Northern Economic Campus to be located in Darlington. It will involve the relocation of 750 civil servants to the area alongside other economic-based departments.
Devolution and control of the Adult Education Budget has enabled a number of initiatives to be pursued including:
- developing employer led skills pilots to provide local people with the skills they need to take advantage of the new jobs in the area meeting specific skills gaps identified by local businesses that are not currently eligible for public funding outside of the devolution deal
- investment in action to support school improvement and support catch-up activity following COVID-19 lockdown
- increasing the availability of Apprenticeship support to businesses
- responding more rapidly to local requirements for skills and employment support than national mainstream provision
- piloting a DWP approach to supporting long term unemployed people, the model which is now being implemented in the new national Restart programme.
West Midlands Combined Authority
The combined authority
The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) was established in 2016. It comprises seven constituent member councils – Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton – and 11 non-constituent councils with a population of 4 million. The area has a history of collaboration including at a more local level. There are, for example, three LEPs: Black Country, Coventry and Warwickshire and Greater Birmingham and Solihull and the Black Country Consortium of the four Black Country councils.
The Mayor of the WMCA, Andy Street, was elected for a second term in May 2021. He was previously managing director of John Lewis and chair of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP.
In addition to the seven constituent councils which make up the electoral area for the Mayor, the WMCA has a number of non-voting non-constituent members including the three LEPs and ten councils from the wider West Midlands region.
Ten portfolios are allocated between council leaders and their deputies, including the leader of one non-constituent council. The portfolios include transport, housing & land, productivity & skills, economy & innovation, environment & energy, culture & digital, wellbeing, inclusive communities and public service reform. The portfolios include a range of delivery, enabling and influencing activity that contribute to an overall vision of a healthier, happier, better connected and more prosperous West Midlands.
The combined authority has three committees, including a transport committee, and seven boards covering topics such as environment, housing and land, public service reform and wellbeing. The WMCA makes decisions by consensus through the formal WMCA Board (chaired by the Mayor). WMCA also works with senior people from different sectors who are champions for or lead task forces on topics such as homelessness, high streets and leadership.
WMCA’s Strategic Leadership Team comprises a chief executive and six executive directors. The combined authority’s approved revenue budget for 2021/22 is £333 million, including employee costs of around £41 million. The combined authority’s approved capital budget for 2021/22 is £605 million.
The devolution deal and priorities
The first devolution deal, agreed in 2015, included a £36.5 million a year revenue funding allocation over 30 years to support an investment programme agreed by the member authorities, a multi-year consolidated transport budget, and devolved Adult Education Budget from 2018/19. The deal gave the combined authority planning powers, the ability to franchise bus services and responsibility for the Strategic Road Network as well as a pilot for joint responsibility with the government to co-design employment support for hardest-to-help claimants. It promised a mayoral business rate supplement and business rates retention scheme plus borrowing powers for the combined authority.
The second deal, agreed in 2017, included a Housing Deal and a Skills Deal, £6 million to support a new Mayoral Housing Delivery Task Force, £5 million for a local construction training programme and £250 million from the Transforming Cities Fund to be spent on local transport priorities. The second devolution deal also included ambitions for a new skills advisory panel, the establishment of a high-quality cycle infrastructure across the region, the creation of a digital hub in Birmingham and additional funding to be spent on developing a business case for a Regional Integrated Control Centre.
The key ambitions for the combined authority are summarised below.
Economy
The WMCA aims to deliver more than half a million jobs by 2030 whilst generating an additional £7 billion GVA. The combined authority has been allocated £5 million from the National Retraining Scheme to create The Construction Gateway – a scheme co-designed with employers that aims to find local high-quality jobs for people entering the construction sector. Since delivery started 18 months ago, 1400 people have gone through the Gateway, with 700 moving into employment after completing the course.
Transport
The WMCA aims to ensure the region benefits from an effective transport system that meets the economic and environmental needs of the West Midlands, through transport policy and strategy (including Statutory Transport Plans), delivery of transport schemes and integrated network services, including buses, active travel and park and ride, and extending the Metro network.
The West Midlands is combining the opportunities of 5G, the Future Mobility Zone, High Speed Two (HS2) and the Commonwealth Games, to drive economic growth and create a more connected region. The Government is already working in partnership with the West Midlands through investments including £20 million for the Future Mobility Zone between Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry; and up to £50 million for 5G trials across the West Midlands.
Productivity and skills
Through its devolved Adult Education Budget, WMCA plans to increase the number of qualifications delivered at all levels and develop flexible models of learning to support working adults to upskill and progress in their careers. WMCA also has ambitions to double the number of good-quality apprenticeships by 2030 in the area. The WMCA is promoting the concept of a skills ecosystem for the region which recognises the interdependence of schools, Further Education, Higher Education, Adult and Community Learning and private and voluntary training providers and recognises the need for stronger collaboration with employers to address regional skills needs.
Housing and regeneration
The combined authority has agreed a housing deal worth £250 million to deliver 215,000 new homes by 2031. This means accelerating delivery to nearly 16,000 homes a year compared with the previous average of 10,000 per annum. It is seeking to both attract higher income households to support a knowledge-led economy and make housing more affordable – currently only 10 per cent of affordable housing is being delivered as part of the city and town centre housing schemes.
Public service reform
Another key priority for WMCA is public service reform in order to transform the lives of people in the West Midlands. This programme includes an initial programme of activity supporting people with complex needs, reform of the criminal justice system and action to address the links between employment, skills and mental health.
Environment
The WMCA has set a zero-carbon target for the West Midlands by 2041. It has a 10-point step to achieve its target which includes: keep your car at home schemes; tree planting programme; and West Midlands’ ‘New Green Deal’. The combined authority has adopted a policy framework which incentivises the development and use of environmental technologies, sustainable energy use, waste minimisation and sustainable transport.
Wellbeing
The WMCA has launched an accreditation scheme Thrive at Work to encourage workplaces to promote employee health and wellbeing. It focuses on activities such as attendance management, policies and both mental and physical health. It has focussed in particular on mental health and complex needs, delivering a number of interventions with partners to focus on relationships between vulnerability, wellbeing and work.
Impact
WMCA has attracted significant investment enabling it to fund major transport infrastructure, including new tram and rail lines and key road improvements. This will enable residents to benefit from HS2, whilst also unlocking long-undeveloped pockets of land - crucial to building the 215,000 new homes by 2031. The West Midlands is the first large-scale 5G testbed in the UK. The scale of the combined authority has enabled it to establish new partnerships, including on skills between employers, colleges, other providers and universities. Additional expertise, capacity and resilience has been created for the region’s councils (such as the Inclusive Growth Unit and Office of Data and Analytics). There have been a range of collaborative and cross-boundary projects (such as the Violence Reduction Unit, Town Centres Programme, and Tackling Health Inequalities programme). The voice of the region has been strengthened and regional recovery priorities agreed.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
The combined authority
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority was created in April 2014 and became a mayoral combined authority in January 2021. It comprises five councils – Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield – and has a population of 2.3 million. The decision to move to a mayoral model followed a long period of collaboration and discussion between the constituent councils.
The Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, was elected in May 2021. She was previously MP for Batley and Spen.
The Leeds City Region LEP Chair is a voting member of the combined authority, and the City of York is a non-constituent member. The mayor has the functions of the Police and Crime Commissioner and has appointed a Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to support this role.
Prior to the election of the mayor, council leaders were allocated a number of portfolios including: transport, skills and employment and climate, energy and environment. It has a set of committees, including a transport committee. West Yorkshire Combined Authority is the accountable body for the LEP, the chair of which is a member of the combined authority.
The staffing budget in 2020/21 was around £24 million. The senior staff include a managing director, six directors and 21 heads of service. The LEP is fully embedded in the combined authority.
The devolution deal and priorities
The combined authority agreed a devolution deal worth £1.8 billion with Government in March 2020. This reflected its decision to become a Mayoral Combined Authority and the fact that the additional mayoral functions cover transport (including the possibility of bus franchising), housing and police and crime.
The 2020 deal builds on the City Deal secured in 2012 and the £1 billion Growth Deal in 2014. It includes: £38 million per year allocation of gainshare investment funding over 30 years; a five-year integrated transport settlement starting in 2022/23; £317 million from the Transforming Cities Fund; £101 million Government funding for West Yorkshire flood risk management schemes; and £65 million per annum devolved Adult Education Budget. The deal unlocks a further £3.2 million to support the development of a pipeline of housing sites across West Yorkshire; £75,000 for a West Yorkshire Local Digital Skills Partnership; and £25 million Heritage Fund to support the British Library in establishing a potential “British Library North”.
The combined authority has four key priorities which are summarised below.
Boosting productivity
The combined authority aims to address productivity issues by developing new business support programmes, providing intensive support to businesses to help them grow and attracting global investment to the region to create jobs. In 2015, the combined authority, jointly with the LEP, launched the LEP Growth Service to provide support to businesses to help them become more productive and successful. Closing the productivity gap with the rest of the UK could add £8.5 billion to the value of the West Yorkshire economy, driving up incomes and improving living standards for all.
To achieve this, in 2020/21 the combined authority:
- developed the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Plan to set out an ambitious vision of the region’s future, moving ahead with implementing key aspects by investing £24.5 million from within their own resources and seeking government support to unlock its full potential
- helped over 3,500 businesses respond to the challenges of the pandemic, with funding, advice or one-to-one business coaching and mentoring from a business professional
- delivered almost £3.5 million in grants to around 1,500 small businesses to help them improve resilience, adapt products and services to reach new customers and markets and update ICT equipment and software
- continued to invest in digital connectivity with the development of a full-fibre infrastructure programme across the region, focusing on hard-to-reach areas so all communities can benefit from high-speed internet access. So far, almost 40,000 properties have been connected
- launched the West Yorkshire Local Digital Skills Partnership, a key element of the devolution deal bringing together business, education, communities and charity leaders to improve digital skills across the region
- launched Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Service with local employers pledging over £1.3 million to fund local apprenticeship opportunities.
Enabling inclusive growth
The combined authority has an ambition to enable as many people as possible to contribute to and benefit from economic growth. This means making sure everyone is able to engage in training and develop skills, find good and secure jobs and get on in life.
To achieve this, in 2020/21 the combined authority:
- agreed long-term ambitions to tackle economic and social disparities across communities by embedding the principles of inclusive growth at the heart of everything they do, so everyone can share the benefits of the recovery
- started to develop a ‘good work standard’ for the region, to recognise employers that commit to good employment practices, such as: paying a living wage, offering secure work, and development and progression
- continued to keep bus services operating throughout the pandemic to meet the transport needs of local communities
- developed lesson plans for use at home during the pandemic through FutureGoals Remote, which has been accessed more than 2,300 times, and worked closely with schools and colleges to support the most disadvantaged young people
- connected over 1,000 homes and businesses to superfast broadband.
In addition, the combined authority has been actively seeking ways to support its residents during COVID-19, and has used £13.5 million of funding secured through the devolution deal to help over 10,000 people in the region who have been made redundant or are at risk of redundancy, to obtain new skills and access training or find work, over the next two years. As previously mentioned, the new Local Digital Skills Partnership brings together digital advocates and key leaders from business, education, local communities and the third sector to form a collaborative partnership to support the region’s vision to transform lives through digital tech. The combined authority’s devolved responsibility for the region’s adult education budget enables it to deliver a tailored skills provision to address local needs around skills and to identify future demand.
Delivering 21st Century transport
The combined authority is working with partners to lay the foundations for a clean, efficient transport infrastructure that connects communities, making it easier to get to work, education, do business and connect with each other. The West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund is already delivering significant enhancements to the area’s road, rail and bus networks. The combined authority has invested more than £10.8 million on projects to reduce journey times and improve air quality in Bradford. The £317 million Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) programme aims to reduce reliance on car travel in order to meet the combined authority’s commitment to become a net zero carbon city region by 2038. The ambition is to improve public transport and active travel options for 1.5 million people, of which 41 per cent live in the 20 per cent most deprived communities and to support connectivity to 650 housing and 220 employment sites that have the potential to deliver 45,000 new homes and 1,573 hectare of employment space.
In addition, in 2020/21 the combined authority:
- worked with bus and rail operators to ensure public transport remains available for critical workers during the pandemic, supporting additional capacity where needed for social distancing and improving real-time travel information to help people travel when services are less busy
- capped travel costs for under-19s with Fare Deal for Young People initiative, which guarantees they pay no more than £1.20 for a single bus journey throughout the region under a new simplified single fare structure
- developed plans for flexible ticketing in response to changing commuter patterns, allowing passengers to buy blocks of tickets to use as they are needed through the combined authority’s MCard Mobile App.
Tackling the climate emergency
Another key priority for the combined authority is to tackle climate emergence by growing their economy whilst cutting emissions. In 2019 the combined authority declared a climate emergency and set the ambition to become a net zero carbon economy by 2038. The combined authority approved the Leeds City Region Energy Strategy and Delivery Plan (ESDP) and its Green and Blue Infrastructure Strategy and Delivery Plan (GBISDP) in December 2018 – this has enabled the City Region to make good progress in tackling the climate emergency without impeding nature recovery.
The Energy Strategy prioritises five key areas that the combined authority, LEP and partners aim to work towards:
- Resource-efficient businesses and industry: increase support to help companies reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions.
- New energy generation: develop an energy network that provides locally generated low-cost, low carbon energy to homes and businesses including district heat networks and the landmark H21 hydrogen energy project in Leeds.
- Energy efficiency and empowering consumers: help households become more energy-efficient, lower their energy bills and reduce fuel poverty.
- Smart grid systems integration: develop the technology and infrastructure that enables people and businesses to use energy more intelligently.
- Efficient and integrated transport: target investment and influence transport operators to develop a sustainable transport network, including a greater proportion of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles and increase opportunities for cycling and walking.
Since the ESDP was approved, the combined authority has supported and initiated 30 projects which include the ULEV Taxi Scheme; Leeds PIPES district heat network which will aim to bring low carbon, lower cost heating and hot water to the city of Leeds, while also cutting 22,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year; Warm Homes programme which will help more than 700 households across the City Region lower their fuel bills and keep their homes warm; and the Energy Accelerator programme which has resulted in 16 low/zero carbon projects receiving free project development support.
Impact
The combined authority is seen as having had a significant impact particularly in relation to attracting investment to the region, playing an influencing role across the wider Yorkshire region and enabling collocation.
Investment secured includes:
- £38 million gainshare funding per annum over 30 years to be spent locally, which includes £13.5 million invested in skills and employment services – decided locally - to support recovery from COVID-19.
- £317 million from the Transforming Cities Fund, the largest allocation to any region, to deliver transformational walking and cycling schemes across West Yorkshire and creating jobs.
- £67 million funding for new homes on brownfield sites.
Funding secured through the devolution deal is already thought to be making a difference to the lives of people across West Yorkshire, with the combined authority agreeing to:
- Support council partners’ COVID-19 recovery plans with £5 million in emergency funding.
- A £13.5 million investment in skills, training, and employment support.
- Encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders with a package of measures worth at least £6 million.
Likewise, the combined authority have been able to collaborate more with partners since the devolution deal was agreed. Examples of effective collaboration include the establishment of the digital skills partnership and the bus alliance – which brings together bus operators and stakeholders as it aims to develop action to improve bus services including franchising.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (C&PCA) was established in 2017. It comprises seven councils – Peterborough City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council and the five city and district councils in Cambridgeshire: Cambridge, East Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, South Cambridgeshire and Fenland – and has a population of 856,000.
The Mayor, Nik Johnson, was elected in May 2021. He is a paediatrician and was, until election a member of Huntingdonshire District Council. The previous mayor, elected in May 2017, was James Palmer. He was previously a county councillor and leader of East Cambridgeshire District Council.
The LEP has been constituted as a business board to C&PCA to advise the authority on business and the economy and programme delivery. The chair of the C&PCA board is a non-voting member of the LEP. The LEP chair is a voting member of the C&PCA Board together with each of the constituent council members. The Police and Crime Commissioner, the fire authority and Clinical Commissioning Group are non-voting co-opted members of the C&PCA Board.
Under the first mayor C&PCA had various portfolios reflecting the priorities of the organisation, including finance, economic growth, housing and transport, which were held by the mayor and various council leaders. It had five committees including audit & governance, overview and scrutiny, housing and communities and transport and infrastructure and skills. C&PCA is the local transport authority.
C&PCA has also set up three commissions, on climate change, land and the other on public service reform and innovation.
C&PCA is also the accountable body for the eastern region energy hub which has a budget of £70 million for energy efficiency.
The joint salary costs of the C&PCA, the Business Board and the Energy Hub are around £5.5 million.
One example of the impact of C&PCA is the decision to establish a new university in Peterborough. ARU Peterborough is due to open in 2022 with 2,000 students and an ambition of having 12,500 by 2030.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) was the first combined authority when it was established in 2011. It comprises the 10 Greater Manchester councils – Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan – and has a population of 2.8 million. The establishment of the combined authority and its move to the mayoral model in 2017 was the culmination of decades of collaboration through the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities.
The Mayor, Andy Burnham, was elected for a second term in May 2021. He was previously MP for Leigh and Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Secretary of State for Health.
The mayor incorporates the role of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and he is responsible for discharging the functions of the former fire authority. He has appointed a deputy mayor, another former minister Baroness Beverley Hughes, to support him in that role. The devolved powers and resources in relation to health and social care are overseen by Greater Manchester Health and Care Partnership which brings together NHS organisations, local government, the voluntary sector and the mayor. The LEP is fully integrated into the combined authority and the combined authority works closely with the AGMA Executive Board. Transport for Greater Manchester reports to the mayor and combined authority.
The combined authority has ten portfolios each of which is the responsibility of a council leader. The portfolios include culture, young people and cohesion, the economy, inequalities, green and low carbon, housing, investment, skills, digital, transport and age-friendly GM. There are statutory committees for overview & scrutiny, audit, standards purposes and the police crime and fire panel. There are a number of bodies which have oversight of the portfolios and delivery of the Greater Manchester Strategy including a health and care joint commissioning board and a waste and recycling committee.
The combined authority is widely seen as the eleventh local authority in the sub - region. There is extensive working with the GM local councils and each chief executive has a policy portfolio for the combined authority.
North of the Tyne Combined Authority
The North of the Tyne Combined Authority (NoTCA) was established in November 2018 with the election of the first, directly elected North of Tyne Mayor taking place in May 2019. It comprises three councils – Newcastle City Council, Northumberland County Council and North Tyneside Council – and has a population of 880,000.
The Mayor, Jamie Driscoll, was elected in May 2019. Prior to his election, he was also Newcastle City councillor.
The North East LEP covers a wider geography. It is a non-voting member of NoTCA and is represented on the board by the LEP Chair. Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, also covers a wider geography and is responsible to a Joint Transport Committee which includes the NoTCA.
The combined authority’s seven portfolios are distributed among the mayor, the council leaders and their deputies. They include: jobs innovation & growth, clean energy & connectivity; skills, education & inclusion; social economy & communities; housing, land & development; culture, creative & rural and investment & resources.
In 2020-21 the combined authority had a staff of 46 and a staffing budget of £1.7 million.
Sheffield City Region Combined Authority
The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority (SCRCA) was established in 2014. It comprises four councils – Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield – and has a population of 1.4 million. To reflect its South Yorkshire geography, the combined authority is in the process of rebranding to have a clearer focus on South Yorkshire.
The mayor, Dan Jarvis, was elected in May 2018. He is also MP for Barnsley Central.
The combined authority also has five non-constituent councils in membership: Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and Derbyshire Dales. The South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive is an executive body of the authority, which is currently in the process of being integrated into the SCRCA who will take on the statutory public transport functions. The LEP has a key advisory role and works closely with the SCRCA.
The combined authority has two statutory committees and four ‘thematic’ boards which cover the thematic areas of Education, Skills and Employability, Business Recovery and Growth, Housing and Infrastructure, and Transport and the Environment.
The staff costs for 2019/20 were £2.3 million.
West of England Combined Authority
The West of England Combined Authority (WECA) was established in 2017. It comprises three councils – Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire – and has a population of 942,000.
Metro Mayor, Dan Norris, who leads the combined authority was elected in May 2021. He was previously MP for Wansdyke and a junior DEFRA minister. The first West of England Mayor, elected in 2017, was Tim Bowles who was previously a councillor in South Gloucestershire.
The chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is a non-voting member of the combined authority. Organisationally the LEP is integrated with the combined authority, and the chief executive of the combined authority is also chief executive of the LEP. The LEP, however, covers a larger area than the combined authority and includes North Somerset Council.
The combined authority has five portfolios, including employment and skills and energy. It also has three advisory boards, involving council cabinet members, the mayor and LEP board business members, on skills, business and infrastructure.
There is close working between the combined authority and its constituent councils including regular meetings of mayors and leaders, chief executives, directors and skills and transport leads.