England’s mayors, including the North East’s Kim McGuinness, have met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss how they can use their devolved powers to help the government to achieve its top-priority mission of economic growth.
The meeting of the so-called Mayoral Council came at the culmination of a week which saw mayors garnering more and more powers, funding and responsibilities as the government comes to see them as key allies in the battle for growth on which all its other ambitions rest.
Mayoral Council
Bringing together mayors of all political stripes, said the government, the Mayoral Council would focus on maximising the opportunities of devolution and the key issues that mattered to local people, from building more homes and infrastructure, to taking control of local transport.
Where projects had stalled or been watered down, the government would back mayors to push them through – unlocking homes, infrastructure and jobs, particularly for younger generations.
Keir Starmer said: “For too long, Britain has been held back by a system that says no, delaying projects, blocking growth and leaving communities behind. We’re turning that on its head by backing our mayors to get Britain building again, with spades in the ground and more jobs across the country.
“There will always be the naysayers and the blockers, but we cannot afford to give in to them – because it will be the next generation that suffers.
“This government is backing mayors with the biggest devolution drive in a generation, putting real power in the hands of local leaders, because those with skin in the game know best what their communities need. That is the right thing to do for communities, and it’s the right thing to do for growth.
“Thanks to new devolved powers,” said the Prime Minister, “mayors will be urged to go further and faster, with a clear message: where local leaders bring forward credible plans to drive growth, the government will back them and get projects built.”
Shift of power
The Mayoral Council meeting came alongside a wider shift of power out of Westminster and into the hands of local leaders, added the government, including the first ever ‘Right to Request’ process – allowing mayors to propose new devolved powers to drive growth in their areas.
The Council would play a central role in driving this agenda by ensuring local leaders had the power, backing and certainty they needed to deliver at scale, at pace, and for the long term.
Devolution now covers 67% of England, according to the government. Mayors had been handed multi‑year funding settlements [integrated settlements], ending the ‘begging bowl culture’ and freeing up time and resource to focus on improving their communities. They now had real delivery powers – including the ability to intervene in major planning decisions, unlock stalled sites, and coordinate housing and infrastructure across their regions. The Prime Minister would additionally confirm a package of major transport investments across England to improve journeys and drive growth.
The mayors, already with increasingly important roles in fields such as transport, housing, planning and regeneration, got a special mention in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ landmark Mais lecture on growth policy on 17 March, when she announced a new £2.3bn City Investment Fund giving established regional leaders control over long-term, self-sustaining capital to generate and invest, backed by a commitment to business rates retention.
More was promised: “I have asked my officials to work with mayors and businesses, to develop a roadmap for future fiscal devolution, to be published at this year’s Budget,” said the Chancellor. “This will set out plans to give regional leaders control of a share of some national taxes which have, for too long, been allocated by central government.”
Skills
The North East is already working closely with the government on a ten-year Local Growth Plan and Tees Valley is also preparing a plan. On a single day this month – 1 June – ministers made three announcements strengthening mayoral involvement in the economy – two of them involving skills and one on innovation.
The publication of the first Annual Skills Report from Skills England, among many other measures, commended working with regional mayors. “Local and regional economies play a vital role in supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth, reflecting the importance of place in shaping productivity outcome,” says the report….Skills England…meets metro mayors regularly to understand the strategic skills issues facing different regions. This engagement with our local and regional government partners is supporting Skills England to advocate across central government and deliver shared ambitions for skills-powered growth.”
Bootcamps
At the same time, mayors and their equivalents in other parts of England learned of their latest allocations under the well-established Skills Bootcamps programme. Tees Valley is receiving £2.7mn for bootcamps and £2.5mn for free courses for jobs this year. The North’ East’s allocation is included in its much larger integrated settlement and is not ring-fenced.
Skills Bootcamps are employer co-designed, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, with an offer of a job interview for eligible participants on completion of the course. They prepare people for work in sectors such as construction, digital and HGV driving.
NEETS
These measures were given added urgency by the recent publication of the Alan Milburn interim report into young people and work, which found that nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET), underlining the need to better connect young people to jobs and training. Skills England’s analysis shows demand across priority sectors is expected to grow by around 24% over the next decade — equivalent to an additional 1.8mn workers.
Innovation
Mayors in England are also to be given more power to fuel innovation and boost jobs in their region through a Local Innovation Partnerships Fund (LIPF) – though this is still some time in the future in most cases.
The LIPFs, announced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), would help local leaders target R&D investments to support opportunities for growth and support innovations which improve people’s lives, from new medical technology to cleaner energy, said the department.
Two projects in Liverpool which will received £23.7mn were announced and West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and Greater London were also named as further beneficiaries.
Further details remain vague, but will presumably include the North East if not Tees Valley. The DSIT said: “After the next spending review [probably in 2027 or 2028], mayors of established mayoral strategic authorities will be given the ability to decide how and where to target regional R&D investment through the LISP on their own doorstep. This decision is driven by the government’s commitment to empower local leaders to make the right funding decisions for their communities and unlock investment in their region.”
It added: “The LIPF supports partnerships of local leaders, businesses and universities to turn existing research breakthroughs into practical solutions that back local businesses, create jobs and improve people’s lives.”
Comment
Westminster and Whitehall are notoriously reluctant to cede power to the regions. Without wishing to be too pessimistic about it, the North East (including Tees Valley) has been looking to local leaders for economic salvation since at least the Dan Smith era of the 1960s. Development bodies and strategic plans under various names have come and gone while the region as well as the wider north and Midlands appear to have stood still at best in comparison with London and the South East, which have roared ahead. Hence the collapse of the Red Wall and then Reform UK.
We must hope McGuinness and Tees Valley Mayor, Lord Ben Houchen, if he can extricate himself from the Best Value Notice slapped on Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) by the government and avoid the worst consequences of his ill-advised deals over the Teesworks site – extensively covered in North East Bylines for over two years now – can do better. All the signs point to the growing involvement of regional mayors from across England in economic development. The new Mayoral Council could become a significant economic institution; the Treasury and Whitehall must not be allowed to let it wither and die.
