A landmark devolution deal has been signed in North East England
today by Levelling Up Secretary and eight local leaders in the
region.
The devolution deal will transfer new powers to local leaders in
the North East to deliver skills, transport and housing,
supported by £1.4 billion of funding. The Levelling Up Secretary,
the Mayor of North Tyne and representatives from all seven local
authorities covering the region signed the deal in an historic
ceremony at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.
In the deal, the government guarantees the new North East Mayoral
Combined Authority (MCA) more than £1.4 billion over the next 30
years which will enable the new Mayor and the councils to plan
for the long term, with certainty, and unlock the benefits of
devolution for 2 million people living in the area. This will
support the leadership of the Mayor of Tees Valley, which has
already revived Teesside International Airport, created a new
freeport and established a free school with leading
educationalists.
The signing continues the government’s devolution revolution with
England moving closer to being 50% covered by bespoke regional
devolution deals. What’s more, the new agreement reaffirms the
government’s commitment in the Levelling
Up white paper to offer a devolution deal to any area that
wants one by 2030.
A local consultation on the deal is now open and if approved,
people across Northumberland, Newcastle, North Tyneside,
Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and County Durham will be
given the power to elect directly a Mayor of the North East. This
person can act as a local champion who can help attract
investment to the area and act as a powerful local voice in
discussions with central government and other bodies.
The historic deal will also give the Mayoral Combined Authority
control over the multi-million pound Adult Education budget, so
local leaders, colleges and training providers can work together
to arm local people with the skills needed to drive local growth.
It will also give control to the region of over half a billion
pounds to upgrade public transport through a new City Region
Sustainable Transport Settlement and provide immediate support to
build new affordable homes on brownfield sites.
Levelling Up Secretary said:
I am proud to sign this historic devolution deal for the North
East today, which will give local leaders the flexibility and
freedom they need to tackle the most pressing issues affecting
the day-to-day lives of people in the area.
Levelling up the North East remains an absolute priority for the
government, and I look forward to working closely with local
leaders to unlock fresh opportunities that create tangible
benefits for people right across the region.
The proposed deal sets out the government’s plans to devolve more
power to the North East through:
- Education and skills: The deal provides the region with
powers to better improve local skills through full devolution of
the Adult Education budget and a greater say over the Local
Skills Improvement Plan, which brings together local businesses,
colleges, and training providers to identify the skills needed to
support local growth.
- Housing and regeneration: The North East will receive £17.4
million to support and accelerate the building of new homes on
brownfield land, as well as £20 million to level up and kick
start regeneration, delivering new affordable homes and green
economic growth across the region.
- Transport: A new City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement
with government will give the North East control of up to £563
million to help shape and improve local rail services across the
region, as well as the ability to introduce bus franchising.
- Local leadership: From 2024, the North East will have a
directly elected mayor who can champion the area, help drive
investment to the region, and can represent local people in
conversations with national government.
Building on existing collaboration across the region and with
central government, the new North East Mayoral Combined Authority
will replace the existing North of Tyne MCA and Mayor, as well as
the non-mayoral North East Combined Authority. This will bring
the region together and provide a more strategic economic
geography, which encompasses the whole Tyne and Wear region, as
well as Northumberland and Durham. These changes are subject to
the statutory processes, including local consultation and
Parliamentary approval. The deal is being published today to
allow necessary governance steps to proceed and will be signed in
in the early new year.
The North East deal means that government has now made devolution
agreements with areas representing over 7 million people since
the Levelling Up White Paper was published in February and agreed
devolution deals with 8 of the 11 areas that were prioritised for
devolution.
