Combined authority will not go as far as Manchester
THE man spearheading talks over the region’s new combined authority says progress has been made – but the political shakeup is unlikely to be as deep as that of Greater Manchester.
Solihull council leader Bob Sleigh, who has been elected chairman of the shadow board for the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), said community leaders in the region had already negotiated major change in a short period of time.
However, speaking to the Post, he accepted the body was unlikely to go as far as Greater Manchester in terms of devolving powers and funding.
The ten authorities which make up Greater Manchester agreed to work together on NHS and social care spending, which saw £6 billion of spending power devolved – but that is not expected to be on the table for WMCA.
Coun Sleigh said: “It is a combined authority in every sense of the word, just as Greater Manchester is a combined authority. We have come an awful long way in a short period of time – it took Greater Manchester a long time to get to where we are now.”
Coun Sleigh has been handed the top job along with Sandwell Council leader Darren Cooper, who was elected vice chairman at the inaugural WMCA meeting on Friday.
Coun Sleigh was one of only two Conservatives of the seven council leaders in the running.
The announcement came as talks continue over proposals for the combined authority, which is a prerequisite for winning powers from Whitehall.
It remains to be seen whether spatial planning, housing powers and NHS spending will form part of its remit. Less contentious are transport powers, which already largely exist, as well as infrastructure and skills.
The authority, which also contains Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley and Walsall, aims to follow in the footsteps of Greater Manchester, which has secured billions of pounds worth of spending powers.
But whereas Greater Manchester, which formed a combined authority in April 2011, has a wider remit, the focus for WMCA has been on private sector-driven growth, dubbed “economy plus”.
Coun Sleigh said: “The issue for us is ‘economy plus’ and what we can do for the economy over and above what is happening at local enterprise partnerships and local authorities already.
“Improving the skills base for our local population, issues around job creation and the whole agenda about transport across the West Midlands is a big part of it. There will be a much larger strategic plan across the West Midlands.”
The appointment of Coun Sleigh, along with the dismissal of the “Greater Birmingham” title, serves to quell fears that the authority would be dominated by Birmingham City Council, which is the largest in Europe.
However, it is still playing catch-up with Sheffield City Region Combined Authority, North East Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which were all created in April 2014.
Coun Sleigh said no decision had been made yet on the voting process but said districts and local enterprise partnerships in the region are likely to be involved.
When asked why the authority did not go as far as the others, Coun Sleigh pointed to plans for a sin- gle investment fund across the region and co-working on specific health projects, including around mental health.
However, he added: “We have not got to a detailed stage yet where we take something to the Treasury or DCLG (the Department for Communities and Local Government) but we are not, at this point in time, talking about some of the things Greater Manchester has taken on. We are looking at working together on mental health and some other specific issues, but Manchester has gone a lot further.”