Extracts from Lords motion to approve the Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (Election of Mayor) (Amendment) Order 2017 - March 16

Baroness Pinnock (LD):...Time will tell. We will have elected mayoral elections in May—for this authority, May 2018. Let us look at the turnout. Will it be greater than turnouts for the Police and Crime Commissioners, which were abysmal, many of them falling below 20%? The commissioners have had little impact on the link between residents and policing. Time will tell whether this devolution model will succeed. What will succeed is devolution—the issue is with this model. I understand why areas are accepting it—because it is what is on offer—but I hope that the Government will have a flexible approach to reviewing its success as we see whether voters support elected mayors and whether they achieve consensus throughout the regions for which they are elected...

Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab):..As I said, huge changes have taken place in recent years. We have Police and Crime Commissioners, which were referred to, who can now take over the fire service. We have the combined authority models, with or without directly elected mayors. This is not very joined up or coherent. In my view, it is not the best way to move forward...

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