Matesrates
Well-known member
Being reported that this will happen, possibly by Lancashire day on 27th November (never knew that) Blackpool council would join Blackburn and Darwin councils would sit as voting members.
Lancashire devolution
- Thread starter Matesrates
- Start date
JJpool
Well-known member
Lancashire devolution deal 'just weeks away', government minister suggests
The leaders of Lancashire’s three main councils have expressed their delight at an indication from the government that a long-awaited devolution deal for the county could be on the table in little more than a month.
www.lep.co.uk
So what has changed lately?
Put simply, the harsh and growing realisation that the longer Lancashire does not have a devolution deal, the more it is at risk of being left behind.
For that reason, a renewed push down the devolution path was launched in January 2022, when all 15 councils agreed the first detailed blueprint for devolution in the county - but now once again minus an elected mayor - which floated the idea of a staggering £5.6bn transfer of funding to the county’s control.
Leaders laid out a bold bid for powers and cash in areas including transport, housing, economic growth, climate change and skills. In doing so, they were seizing upon a commitment by the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, for shire areas like Lancashire to be able to seek their own bespoke “county deals”, seemingly stripped of the prerequisites in which past devolution offers had been wrapped.
In November last year, the 15 councils built upon their new-found unity by launching the so-called “Lancashire 2050” vision - the county’s plan to address the challenges and harness the opportunities it faces in key areas like those highlighted in its devolution blueprint.
Launched on Lancashire Day 2022 - at an event hosted by Commons Speaker and Chorley MP Sir Lindsay Hoyle in the Houses of Parliament - the document has been widely credited with turbocharging the county’s devolution hopes, after it had earlier in the year failed to feature on the government’s list of the next areas in line for a deal.
So, no more stumbling blocks?
That’s how it seemed at the time, notwithstanding the fact that Preston City Council leader Matthew Brown wanted to see an more ambitious proposal than the one Lancashire had put on the table and Burnley Council expressed concerns about accountability under the new devolved governance structure that would be put in place.
Hopes were nevertheless high for a deal, because the agreement Lancashire’s leaders had reached about what they wanted to get out of devolution also came, crucially, with a plan for the arrangements by which any new powers and cash would be overseen.
The sensitive issues of votes and vetoes - which, in previous years, had been almost as incendiary as those of an elected mayor and slashing the total number of councils - would be addressed by the formation of a joint committee.
On that body, each of the 15 councils was to have an equal vote - with a two thirds majority required to approve any proposal - and the power of a veto on the biggest decisions that would affect their area.
It sounds like that didn’t survive contact with reality?
You could say that. The government's Levelling Up White Paper - its own blueprint for how it sees the future of devolution - required the kind of mayor-free deal being pursued by Lancashire to be based on the creation of a combined county authority (CCA), which would discharge the powers handed over under devolution.
Unfortunately for Lancashire, the CCA structure was at odds with the joint committee it had previously proposed. Only top-tier local authorities - in Lancashire’s case, those being Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council - are permitted to sit on a CCA.
It emerged in May this year, that that trio were pursuing a deal with the government on that very basis - news that was greeted with varying degrees of suppressed and overt anger amongst some district leaders, amid claims that they were being frozen out, not only of the discussions to strike a deal, but also the operation of any powers that eventually flowed from it.
So how would it work?
The three top-tier authorities would sit as full, voting members of the CCA. However, Lancashire County Council leader Phillippa Wiiliamson has committed to ensuring that the districts still have “a voice” in the new devolution arrangements.
The LDRS understands that that could be achieved by giving two district council representatives associate member status on the CCA, alongside figures from academia and business. Under the government’s rules, such members do not automatically have voting rights, but it is understood that these could be instituted for some or all of the associates if unanimously backed by the full members.
Would all of Lancashire’s councils continue to exist?
Yes, under the deal that now looks to be in its final stages, no councils would be abolished and they would all continue to operate as they do currently.
What would Lancashire get out of the deal?
The "level 2" deal being pursued by Lancashire entitles it to control over some local transport functions, including the ability to introduce bus franchising; control of adult education functions and budgets; the acquisition of Homes England compulsory purchase powers; and a more defined role in local resilience to strengthen public health and safety.
Had the county accepted an elected mayor, it would have been in line for the highest "level 3" deal, which would also have included more powers over affordable housing and influence over local rail services. Under that arrangement, a more traditional type of combined authority would have been established - on which all 15 councils would have been members, not just the top-tier authorities.
More in the article.
glasshalffull
Well-known member
As a Lancastrian living in Yorkshire, will this mean I will have to have a passport.
And if so will it be red?
JJpool
Well-known member
They do say though that not doing it is meaning the area misses out.
Not sure if it would lead to subsidising east lancs, some might say Blackpool needs more money than most, does it get it and will it get more?
With it being one of the 'top tier' councils I can't see it losing out.
There must be plusses for doing it.
TangerineBayern
Well-known member
Does this mean we’ll be getting HS2 running into North Station or have we settle for that disgraceful amount of money spent on the biggest white elephant this town has seen in decades, the tram from near the North Station to North Pier?
I hope there is, but I'm not confident.
JJpool
Well-known member
That is high speed.
JJpool
Well-known member
It's the district councils that are upset.
April13th1970
Well-known member
Matesrates
Well-known member
Except it still doesn’t run
TangerineBayern
Well-known member
Went past on Wednesday and they're nowhere near finishing the terminus at the new Holiday Inn. As I’ve said many times before, visitors arriving by train are generally here for a few days only and they’ll be jumping straight into a taxi to the hotel to save time rather than using a slow tram!
Wizaard
Well-known member
Blackpool has some of the poorest wards in the country, never mind the county, so it may be the other way round.