The long-awaited devolution deal giving the West of England a £1bn boost for investment in infrastructure and skills has been announced by Chancellor George Osborne.
The move would represent a major change, transferring decisions on transport, investment, funding, skills training, business support, housing and strategic planning from Westminster.
But the package of measures, which also includes an elected ‘metro mayor’ for the former Avon area, has yet to be approved by the leaders of the four councils.
Business leaders have been working closely with the councils – Bristol City, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset – for many months to progress the deal with ministers against a backdrop of disagreement.
An official statement said the leaders of the West of England councils along with the Mayor of Bristol and the Government had negotiated the proposed agreement seeking to devolve significant powers, funding and responsibilities to the region. The negotiations were also supported by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
But it adds that the agreement now needs to go to all four councils for consideration, who will then make a decision on how to proceed.
“Final agreement remains subject to the legislative process and is conditional upon the agreement of the four local councils that would make up the combined authority,” said the statement.
The statement makes no mention of an elected West of England mayor, despite it being mentioned by the Chancellor in yesterday’s Budget announcement.
Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson said: “I’m really proud of the deal we have negotiated with Government for more devolved powers to the West of England. The deal recognises the special qualities of our relatively prosperous city-region but also addresses the particular transport, housing and social challenges we are facing.
“By putting more investment and power in local hands we expect to be able to increase the speed and efficiency with which we improve our infrastructure, tackle congestion and help some of society’s most disadvantaged people into training and work. This excellent deal puts us back into the first division of UK city regions. I trust that the massive potential benefit to the local economy, jobs and homes, will be seen by all four councils as far outweighing any concerns that some may have regarding governance arrangements.”
The agreement includes:
- The creation of a West of England Investment Fund to deliver infrastructure to boost economic growth. Government will provide £30m a year for funding towards this fund for 30 years, or £900m. Additional sums from other sources take the total over and above £1 billion.
- Devolution of multi-year transport budgets, enabling the area to deliver more ambitious transport projects with greater certainty. This will be coupled with further powers over transport including the ability to franchise bus services and responsibility for a Key Routes Network of roads.
- Responsibility for the new Adult Education Budget from 2018/19, helping the West of England ensure that adult skills provision meets the needs of local businesses and learners.
- Enhanced powers to speed up the delivery of new housing where most needed and resist unsustainable developments that are not in line with jointly agreed planning policies.
- Closer cooperation between government and the West of England on promoting trade and investment with the region.
- Co-design with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) of the new National Work and Health Programme focusing on supporting those with a health condition or disability and the very long-term unemployed. The West of England will also bring forward a pilot scheme to offer intensive support for those furthest from the labour market.
- Support for realising the potential of the Bristol and Bath Science Park, the Food Enterprise Zone at Junction 21 of the M5 and the development of the West of England Growth Hub.
