Today is your last chance to have a say on a £4bn deal to create a new North East mayor.
A public consultation on a massive shakeup of the region’s politics closes at midnight tonight. The historic deal struck with the Government will reunite seven areas across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, and County Durham under the leadership of an elected mayor, with an election due to be held in May next year.
A new North East Mayoral Combined Authority would take on major new funding and decision-making powers that the region does not currently have – including a £48m-per-year investment fund and the ability to bring the bus network back under public control. Levelling Up secretary Michael Gove visited Tyneside in January to sign the deal alongside council leaders and the North of Tyne mayor, Jamie Driscoll.
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However, the 30-year deal is not officially done yet – with the councils involved having to consider the public’s views before the agreement is then put before Parliament to ratify later this year. While the eight-week public consultation on the devolution deal is not binding in the same way as the North East’s 2004 referendum that rejected the prospect of a regional assembly, residents have been urged to make their voice heard before it is too late.
The online consultation, which is available by clicking this link, shuts at midnight on Thursday, March 23.
In a joint statement, the area’s seven council leaders said: “Across the region we have been impressed by how engaged the public and businesses have been. As leaders across seven areas we have collaborated to get the deal, that the government is ‘minded to’ agree, and our experiences during the consultation have shown many people getting behind the plans too.
“Colleagues in education, the business world and the voluntary sector can see the huge potential for our region. This is an enormous opportunity to have a significantly improved say on how money is spent and how decisions are made for the benefit of the two million people and thousands of businesses in our region.
“Through this deal, the North East will benefit from billions of pounds of investment, and have authority over key decisions around transport, skills, housing, finance and economic development. We have also agreed a seat at the negotiating table for deeper devolution through a ‘trailblazer’ agreement, which would provide a further jobs and investment boost to the region.
“It is important to us that anyone who lives or works here is able to share their views. Our thanks go to everyone who has provided their feedback, and we would remind anyone who has not yet responded to do so before the consultation closes.”
Should the agreement go ahead as planned, it will reunite authorities on either side of the Tyne, after a dramatic break-up. Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside, and County Durham pulled out of a previous devolution deal offered by the Government in 2016, prompting Newcastle, Northumberland, and North Tyneside to break away and form their own North of Tyne Combined Authority.
Once approved by local councils and then Parliament, the devolution deal would establish a new North East Mayoral Combined Authority, while the existing North of Tyne and North East combined authorities would cease to operate. The combined authority will not replace any of the local councils, which will retain their existing functions and responsibilities.
The deal also includes a £60m-a-year adult education and skills budget, an initial £900m package of transport investment, and could soon be enhanced by negotiations to take on the same ‘trailblazer’ devolved powers being given to Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. It is expected to create 24,000 extra jobs and leverage £5bn of extra private sector investment.
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