More women at top if I’m mayor, vows MP Byrne
Labour candidate pledges better gender balance on board runningWest Midlands
LABOUR mayoral candidate Liam Byrne has vowed to increase the number of women in key positions on the West Midlands Combined Authority as fewer than one in five board members are female.
Mr Byrne, MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Labour’s candidate for mayor in the May elections, says he would create a “gender balanced cabinet to help run the region day to day”.
He said: “If we’re to take better decisions, we need a proper balance of men and women at the top table.” The West Midlands mayor is chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, a regional council serving Birmingham, Solihull, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall.
The mayor chairs a board which includes 32 people in total. Members include council leaders, including some from neighbouring authorities in the wider West Midlands, and other senior councillors, who are appointed by the local authorities.
Other members include the chairs of Enterprise Partnerships and the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner.
Some Board members take responsibility for specific policy areas. For example, Birmingham Council leader Ian Ward is the portfolio member for transport.
But just six members of the board are women – less than one in five. Mr Byrne said if elected he would create a new committee, to be known as the Cabinet, to help the mayor govern the region.
Councils would nominate a councillor to be part of the board, and each member would take responsibility for a specific issue.
The idea would be that at least half the members of the Cabinet would be women.
The mayor would not have the power to decide who sat on the Cabinet, as it would be up to local councils to choose who they appoint.
But Mr Byrne said Labour councils across the region had agreed to ensure that women were appointed. The existing board would also continue to meet, but its role would be to hold the mayor to account, not to help govern the region.
At the same time, Mr Byrne has pledged to appoint a woman as deputy mayor, if he wins the election. Currently, Solihull Councillor Bob Sleigh is deputy mayor, working with
the current
Andy Street.
Mr Byrne said: “There will be no ifs or buts. We can’t level up our region until we fix the power failures that deny West Midlands women the power and influence that should be theirs.
“My second in command, the deputy mayor, will be a woman.”
He added: “We just won’t get on as a region until we’re a region that helps West Midlands women get on.
“So, I’ll work with leaders of the region to create a proper, gender balanced cabinet to help run the region day to day.”
He said: “Every one of our policies will be subject to an equalities impact assessment to ensure that we serve all of our communities whatever their gender, sexuality, race or religion.
“All our contractors will be asked to confirm that they have recruitment and promotion policies in place which ensure equal treatment for all sections of the community.”
mayor,
Conservative
We just won’t get on as a region until we’re a region that helps West Midlands women get on.
Liam Byrne (Labour)
ACONTROVERSIAL £130 million Birmingham development has been given the green light by Government after it was thrown out by the council because it is near a proposed new railway viaduct.
Eutopia Homes has won the backing of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick for its scheme over 4.2 acres of industrial land at 193 Camp Hill, in Digbeth.
Eutopia boss Scott Hammond condemned councillors on the city’s planning committee for delaying the process and wasting public funds on the appeal.
First unveiled in early 2019, the project will comprise 180 apartments and 300 houses for both rent and sale, an eight-storey hotel and 16,000 sq ft of commercial space.
The scheme will be formed of seven blocks ranging from three to 26 storeys, with the tallest tower housing the apartments, alongside public realm.
The site was occupied for more than 100 years by Swiss coil manufacturer Sulzer but it has relocated to a new UK head office on Birmingham Business Park in Solihull.
The development has previously attracted opposition because of its proximity to the planned Bordesley Chords rail line project.
The scheme will enable new rail viaducts to be built in Digbeth which will take more services into Moor Street station from the east and south of the city, including from new stations under construction in Kings Heath, Moseley and Hazelwell on the Camp Hill line. But it was feared that Eutopia Homes’ new development could threaten this infrastructure work although Network Rail did not oppose the planning application.
Birmingham City Council’s planning committee decided against officers’ recommendations and rejected the application, prompting Eutopia Homes to lodge an appeal with the Planning Inspector last summer which it has now won.
Eutopia Homes’ chief executive Scott Hammond said: “We are pleased the Secretary of State has agreed with the Planning Inspector and Birmingham City Council planning officers, who recommended the application for approval in December 2019, that permission should be granted.
“It is a shame that members of the planning committee forced a lengthy delay to important job creation and housing delivery, as well as expenditure of public funds at appeal.”
But Malcolm Holmes, director of rail with Transport for West Midlands, said: “We are disappointed that the appeal has been upheld.
“Nevertheless we will continue to work with our partners including Network Rail, Birmingham City Council and Midlands Connect on the Midlands Rail Hub project to increase rail capacity at Moor Street Station and deliver improved services for people all over the West Midlands.
“We do encourage housing development in Digbeth and the wider region but this needs to be carried out alongside the development of our rail and public transport networks to support that regeneration.”
However Network Rail said the potential rail improvements could still go ahead in future. A spokesperson said: “When plans were first submitted for this mixed-use development in Digbeth, we met with the developer to explain the potential railway upgrades in the area.
“Our suggestions were incorporated into its design, keeping open the possibility that the Camp Hill line could be joined with the Chiltern main line in future as part of the Midlands Rail Hub.”