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North
East Devolution
 
On 28 December 2022 HM
Government announced a “minded to” devolution deal with
the seven councils across the North East (i.e. Durham, Gateshead,
Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and
Sunderland).
 
To implement the deal, it was
necessary to establish a new mayoral combined authority which
covered the area of the seven councils and replaced the two
existing combined authorities in the region.
 
The report updated Cabinet on
the public consultation which the councils had undertaken in
relation to these proposals and sought Cabinet approval to submit
the attached consultation report to the Secretary of State as the
next step in the process of establishing the new mayoral combined
authority.
 
The Leader introduced the
report paying tribute to his fellow Leaders and Chief Executives
about how the process had been managed to date. He stressed the
proposals did not mean that Northumberland would lose its ability
to make its own decisions but they would allow greater sharing of
expertise and support through cross council working. The prospects
were good and absolutely the right thing for the Council to do. The
consultation responses had shown that residents were in favour,
with queries being raised about ensuring that Northumberland got
its fair share. 
 
A number of questions were
raised by members including:-
 
•        
Councillor Horncastle queried whether the additional funding would
help with the provision of specialist housing such as extra care
and sheltered housing which were expensive to provide. The Leader
agreed this was an important issue for the Authority and was
hopeful that the additional funding would support this
provision.
 
•        
Councillor Riddle welcomed the extra funding for the rural agenda
and was sure it would be put to good use. The Leader agreed that
rurality was a very important part of the deal and Northumberland
would chair the Rural Board.
 
•        
Councillor Watson commented on the significance of tourism to the
Northumberland economy and hoped that the County would continue to
be advertised as well as the rest of the North East as a tourism
destination. The Leader confirmed that the Council would continue
to deliver tourism development and expected that there would be
extra funding available to support that. He felt there was a need
to look more seriously at the County’s tourism offer in terms
of the breadth of what was available across the County as a whole
and not just along the coastline.
 
•        
Councillor Renner Thompson welcomed the £63m for adult
education which would help upskill people to work in the new
industries coming into Northumberland. This would sit alongside
negotiations for trailblazer funding for the under 18s and he asked
if the Leader would be continuing this negotiation going forward.
The Leader commented that he was proud of what had been achieved
recently in education. Northumberland had a lot of expertise to
share and he looked forward to working with others to achieve even
greater improvements.
 
•        
Councillor Stewart welcomed that Northumberland Fire and Rescue
Service would remain as part of the Authority and thanked the staff
for all that they did. He looked forward to working with others
also. Maintaining identification with the County was very important
and he was grateful to all those who had been involved in making
that happen.
 
•        
Councillor Ferguson referred to the three key priority areas and
asked how the deal would help the Authority achieve its aims in
these areas. The Leader responded that these would continue to be
reflected as part of the new combined authority. The other Leaders
were aware of what they were and were supportive of them, and he
felt sure there would be extra opportunities for support
particularly in tackling inequalities. The sharing of expertise
could only be a good thing.
 
•        
Councillor Ploszaj referred to the £900m transport funding
included in the deal, which was an increase of £5m on current
funding, £1.4bn for regeneration, and £5m for Ashington
regeneration and high street renewal amongst other funding
packages. He hoped the funding would help towns and villages to
thrive and become great places to live, learn and work as well as
driving prosperity and tackling inequalities.
 
RESOLVED
that:-
 
(a)      the content of the report
and the attached consultation report relating to the proposed
creation of a new mayoral combined authority for the North East
region be noted; (appendix 1);
 
(b)      Cabinet agree that the
consultation that has been undertaken is sufficient for the
purposes of the legislation and that the findings set out in the
consultation report demonstrate that the statutory criteria
(referred to in para 1.6 of the report) have been met;
 
(c)      Cabinet agree that the
consultation report should be submitted to the Secretary of State
so that the Secretary of State can:
 
(i)       consider whether
they are satisfied that the consultation has been sufficient and
that the statutory criteria have been met; and
 
(ii)       (if so satisfied)
request Parliament to make an order to abolish the existing
combined authorities and establish NEMCA;
 
(d)      Cabinet agree in principle
to consent to the making of the necessary statutory order;
and
 
(e)      Cabinet agree that the
Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of Council, shall
be authorised to take all steps necessary to implement the above
proposals, including (but not limited to) finalising the terms of
the consultation report which is submitted to the Secretary of
State.