Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner today (October 10) chaired the first-ever Mayoral Council – hosted in the North East – to discuss how best to shift power away from Westminster and into communities.
Regional mayors were invited to the roundtable at The Common Room in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, to share their views on the development of the upcoming English Devolution White Paper. This will set out the government’s plans to widen devolution to more areas and deepen the powers of existing mayors and their combined authorities, ensuring they have the tools needed to boost economic growth.
The Deputy Prime Minister established the Mayoral Council to strengthen the relationships between central government and the mayors, ensuring those with skin in the game are involved in discussions concerning devolution and the White Paper has the fingerprints of local people on it.
Three days ahead of the International Investment Summit, the first Mayoral Council meeting will focus on investment and growth, with plans underway to devolve a range of powers across areas like planning, skills, transport, and employment support. This is a key moment to ensure everyone is collectively playing their part to maximise the opportunity the Summit presents for the whole of the UK.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said
It’s been fantastic to kick-off the first Mayoral Council today, ensuring our mayors have a proper seat at the table as we shape the future of English devolution.
We want to learn from those who are already seeing the game-changing benefits of devolution as we work to shift more power away from Westminster and back into our communities, where it belongs.
The Council will meet every quarter and will allow for increased partnership working, helping to further bring regional insight to national policy, and ensure everyone is aligned with the government’s mission to boost economic growth.
Ministers across government will also be invited to future sessions to strengthen that relationship between the government and mayors, who have previously been asked to develop ambitious long-term Local Growth Plans focused on the key growth priorities for their region that will support shared national growth and deliver the national industrial strategy. These plans will be focused on the biggest opportunities and most challenging constraints to growth, and the government will work hand-in-hand with the mayors to take them forward.
The meeting will help to shape the White Paper, which will set out a presumption in favour of devolution with an enhanced devolution framework, giving local leaders the tools they need to deliver for their communities, alongside stronger governance structures and clearer accountability.
The meeting comes ahead of the Council of the Nations and Regions in Scotland, which will see the Prime Minister bring together First Ministers, Northern Ireland’s First Minister and deputy First Minister and regional Mayors from across England, as the UK Government forges new partnerships, resets relationships and seizes the opportunity to secure long term investment with the aim of boosting growth and living standards in every part of the UK.
