Devolution must not be delayed by coronavirus crisis - West Yorkshire Council Leaders

The Leaders of West Yorkshire’s Councils have written for The Yorkshire Post on the devolution deal and what it means for the region.

3 June 2020

The Leaders of West Yorkshire’s Councils have written for The Yorkshire Post on the devolution deal and what it means for the region. 

It is a little over 10 weeks since we signed the West Yorkshire devolution deal with the Chancellor and the Communities Minister on a sunny morning in Leeds.

There is no escaping the fact that the sense of optimism around our region and its future that day has been overshadowed in the following weeks by the dreadful toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on our communities through the tragic death of friends and loved ones and the significant consequences for our economy.

Through our councils and as partners through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority we have played a leading role in the region’s response.

Our staff have continued to deliver essential services including care and support for the most vulnerable and we pay tribute to their dedication and hard work through this crisis. Through our councils £430.6 million in funding has so far been distributed to 37,385 local businesses while the Combined Authority’s business support service has advised 4,200 companies to access the help they need. As the region’s transport authority, the Combined Authority has worked closely with bus and rail operators to ensure key workers can get where they need to be.

We have also begun to plan for what comes next by bringing together the West Yorkshire Economic Recovery Board representing local government, trade unions, education, business, health and others to collaborate on how we rebuild in a way that delivers for all our communities and builds on the recovery work we will be leading in our local places.

The common thread that runs through the devolution deal, our response to COVID-19 and the creation of the Economic Recovery Board is our fundamental belief that West Yorkshire is strongest when it works together.

Our track record demonstrates the benefits of this approach, most recently through the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Starting with securing the largest Growth Deal in the country, we have delivered college buildings equipped to prepare young people for 21st Century jobs, helped young people enter work through apprenticeships and those of all ages to retrain for new careers. We have delivered new rail stations, park-and-rides and support for bus services that have helped people move from cars to public transport. Our cycling and walking infrastructure is contributing to better transport and improved health and will play an important role in helping people move around the region safely as we gradually emerge from lockdown. We have attracted businesses bringing new jobs and opportunities and strengthened flood protection for our communities.

The driving force behind our determination to secure the best devolution deal possible was our collective ambition to go much further. The funding and freedom to make more important decisions locally secured through the deal will be even more important as we address the impact of the pandemic.

The deal brings into local control more than £1.8 billion in investment including £38 million a year for 30 years into a West Yorkshire Investment Fund with freedom to spend on local priorities. It delivers £317 million to invest in public transport, cycling and walking. The deal secures a Government commitment to work with us develop a modern mass transit system and provides access to a new £4.2 billion Government fund to support public transport. It gives local control over how £65 million is spent every year to support adult education. And through the election of a West Yorkshire Mayor in May 2021 we secure much greater control over major decisions currently taken in London.

The deal is a beginning not an end. We expect the Government to continue to make new funding and powers available to areas with devolution deals and this agreement will ensure we are at the front of the queue.

It also allows us to continue to collaborate with our partners across Yorkshire and goes further by securing £200,000 in funding, allowing us to work together meaningfully on the issues it makes sense to address on a Yorkshire-wide basis.

You now have the opportunity to have your say on the future of West Yorkshire and role of the devolution deal. This week we have launched a public consultation on what the deal will mean for West Yorkshire. The views gathered through that consultation will inform how we take the devolution deal forward and will be considered by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary before the next legal steps are taken to bring the deal into force.

This consultation process will be more challenging given the restrictions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic but we will be working hard to ensure that it is as accessible as possible. We also firmly believe that to delay the consultation, and therefore the implementation of the deal with the powers and funding it unlocks, would hamper West Yorkshire’s recovery and our ability to ensure all our communities receive the support they need in the years ahead.

As we emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, it is vital we rediscover that sense of optimism about the future we had when the deal was signed in March.  We want to rebuild in a way that raises living standards for all, creates jobs, improves skills and tackles the climate emergency while making a full contribution to the UK’s economic recovery and long-term growth.  

Make your voice heard in the consultation on the West Yorkshire Devolution Deal at www.yourvoice.westyorks-ca.gov.uk.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council

Cllr Tim Swift, Leader of Calderdale Council

Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of Kirklees Council

Cllr Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council

Cllr Denise Jeffery, Leader of Wakefield Council

People can take part in the survey by visiting: