Representatives of local authorities in Yorkshire have submitted a ‘detailed and concrete’ proposal to the Government outlining their vision for a county-wide devolution deal.
A devolution agreement for the Sheffield region was originally signed in 2015, but did not have the support of Barnsley and Doncaster MBCs, both of whom favoured a One Yorkshire devolution deal.
The secretary of state for communities and local government Sajid Javid sought to resolve this tension last December with a compromise solution.
Yorkshire’s councils should do ‘all that is necessary’ for the Sheffield City Region deal to be implemented, he said, before adding they would be free to pursue a One Yorkshire devolution deal if one were proposed.
A total of 18 out of Yorkshire’s 20 councils yesterday submitted the devolution proposal.
‘The submission, which the authorities have been working on for several months, follows the request for such a proposal made by Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid, at the Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire APPG meeting last week,’ council representatives said in a joint statement.
‘Leaders welcomed the opportunity, on behalf of the region, to present the agreed plans as offering the most ambitious approach to devolution, securing the maximum possible economic and social benefits for all their communities and the country.’
Sheffield and Rotherham councils were not signatories to the plan.