The government has welcomed a devolution bid by four local authorities in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to form an East Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority.
Neil O’Brien, parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said he welcomed the “ambitious devolution deal” and was “very pleased” the councils were looking for a mayoral agreement.
In March, the leaders of Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council submitted an initial proposal to negotiate a combined devolution deal.
Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City council said: “The East Midlands has long been overlooked, in comparison to other combined authority areas like the West Midlands and Greater Manchester.
“We’re convinced that by leaning on our collective resources we can only improve the efficiency and value for money of services provided for our people.”
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If the proposal is approved, the councils said it could mean additional funding for regions and autonomy in areas including transport and infrastructure, business growth, inward investment, strategic regeneration, destination management, employment, and skills.
Councillor David Mellen, leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “Our devolution plans are about bringing in much needed investment, giving our region a bigger voice, and having more major decisions made locally, nearer to the people they affect.”
Mellen added that currently the East Midlands has the lowest public spending per person at £12,113, which is 10% below the UK average.
This comes after the government’s Levelling Up White Paper, released in February, proposed a new devolution framework to extend beyond metropolitan areas to every region of England to help improve public services.
Levelling up counties
Councillor Barry Lewis, leader of Derbyshire County Council and chairman of the Vision Derbyshire Joint Committee, said: “This is a huge opportunity to level up county areas like Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire that have been underfunded historically, and to bring powers from Whitehall closer to communities.”
If the plans are approved, the devolution agreement council could be in place by the end of the year with the first election for a regional mayor in May 2024.
The proposed devolution deal does not involve merging or scrapping the existing local authorities and most public services will continue to be their responsibility. The councils say the mayor would focus on wider issues such as transport, regeneration and employment.
Ben Bradley, who is the MP for Mansfield, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and chairman of the City of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Economic Prosperity Committee, said: “With a population of 2.2 million, a future combined authority will be one of the biggest in the country.
“It’s time that we got our fair share, so we can deliver better services and better outcomes for the people who live and work in the East Midlands.”
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