Humberside's Police and Crime Commissioner and his deputy have urged Prime Minister Andy Burnham to rethink devolution in the region and create a Humber-wide combined authority.

In a letter dated 24 September, Jonathan Evison and Leo Hammond said the split between the Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire combined authorities leaves the area's main economic asset, the Humber Estuary, divided between two mayoralties. They said this was ‘not the optimal footprint’.

They added that the arrangement cuts across the Humberside boundary used by the police, fire and rescue, probation and health services, and said it would be ‘foolish’ to split the area between two police forces.

The pair called for a Humber Combined Authority, warning that without one the area ‘will continue to be left behind’. They said it would also allow a smoother move from PCC to mayoral oversight, rather than the ‘chaotic and unsure’ future of a police and crime board in 2028.

They asked the PM to instruct the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to bring forward its review of the Humber devolution deals.

‘It saddens us that despite many organisations' best efforts, our region has lost momentum and is ill-equipped to realise its economic opportunities or the opportunities of your devolution agenda, because it has gone down the wrong path on devolution,’ they write.

‘We are deeply concerned that this will be compounded by a costly and disruptive reorganisation of public services to match a geography that makes little sense. It is time to admit that a mistake was made and put it right.’