Devolution deal ‘a vision for economy’

Region will access £1.8bn pot of funding

POLITICS: A devolution deal for West Yorkshire will provide a long-term vision for the future of the region’s economy amid huge uncertainty and an impending recession faced by the nation, council bosses have heard.

Bradford Council’s decisionmaking executive discussed the deal, which will see a mayor for the region elected next May.

A DEVOLUTION deal for West Yorkshire will provide a longterm vision for the future of the region’s economy amid huge uncertainty and an impending recession faced by the nation, council bosses have heard.

During its latest online meeting, Bradford Council’s decision-making executive discussed the planned West Yorkshire devolution deal, which will see a mayor for the region elected next May.

The proposals, announced by the Government in early March, will unlock a huge pot of funding and give a much greater say on transport and infrastructure projects. Overall the deal is worth £1.8bn to the region.

A public consultation on the plans will begin on Monday. However, the executive was told that consultations for similar mayoral authorities such as Manchester or the West Midlands have not always excited the public.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s managing director, Ben Still, told councillors: “Consultations like this rarely elicit a large amount of responses from the public. You are usually talking about the low number of hundreds.

“In West Yorkshire, we are looking at how we can maximise the response rate.”

Bradford Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe went on to describe the devolution deal as “momentous”,

saying: “This will put West Yorkshire in the same position as devolved areas like Manchester and the West Midlands.

“This is something we’ve been working towards for years. It gives the area significant powers over funding for transport, education and skills.

“It is one of the best devolution deals in the country. The funding can be spent as we see fit, and not dictated by Westminster.”

She added that the deal gives the county a “better chance of affecting recovery”.

It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak said he was not counting on the “V-shaped” recovery which some had been hoping for after the coronavirus crisis.

“It is not obvious that there will be an immediate bounceback,” Mr Sunak told the Lord’s Economic Affairs Committee, adding that the economy is likely to see a huge downturn.

“Obviously the impact will be severe,” he said. “We are likely to face a severe recession the likes of which we have never seen.”

Coun Rebecca Poulsen, who represents Worth Valley, questioned whether the deal would only benefit Bradford city centre.

But Coun Hinchcliffe said: “This is for the whole of the district and all of West Yorkshire. People in Keighley and Ilkley also have to feel the benefit as much as people in the city centre.”

She pointed out West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which currently operates in a similar way to how the devolved authority will work, albeit with less power, had funded schemes such as the £10m Hard Ings Road improvement scheme in Keighley.

Coun Hinchcliffe told councillors: “This deal will enable us to fund more schemes like this all over the district.”

This is something we’ve been working towards for years.

Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council leader.