Agenda item

The Committee are to receive an update on Devolution proposals together with the report that was considered by the Executive at its meeting on 23 July 2020.

The Committee received an update on the devolution proposals for the City of York and North Yorkshire. The Leader of the Council, the Interim Head of Paid Service and the Head of Corporate Policy & City Partnerships provided the update on the submissions to Government.

The Leader highlighted the principles behind devolution and it was noted that Government had rejected the One Yorkshire proposal deal but had offered a 4 sub-regional deal and based on all messages from Government, a York and North Yorkshire deal was the only option on the table for York at present.

The Leader emphasised the context behind the proposed deal and it was noted that a White Paper on devolution was due to be published in the autumn. He confirmed that devolution wasn’t yet mandatory or essential but it was directly connected to funding and investment in the following ways:

·        Devolved areas were often guaranteed a share of national funding pots announced by Government.

·        Typically, devolved areas had seen twice as much investment from these funds than non-devolved areas.

·        As more areas were devolved, the remaining funding for non-devolved areas to bid for would shrink and become more competitive.

·        The certainty of funding over 30 years allowed longer-term strategic decisions to be made locally, rather than in line with cyclical Government Spending Reviews over a few years. 

Members were informed of the ‘asks’ that had been submitted and the next steps were explained, where it was noted that a devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire could potentially unlock significant investment for York, with a focus on improving the economic prosperity and future long term opportunities for all residents.

The Interim Head of Paid Services highlighted the benefits the ‘asks’ would bring to York and its residents and it was noted that as part of the Executive process, Executive agreed to request two additions to the ‘asks’, these were:

·        The need for the skills and employment sections to represent the current and future requirement for the health and social care workforce, recognising this was a sector with significant career opportunities but also likely to have shortage of workers.

·        That York’s strengths as a rail tech city were recognised and that opportunities were taken to support this sector to enhance these strengths as part of York’s future economy.

In answer to Members questions regarding the devolution models, the complexity of the process for unitary and non unitary authorities, timelines, the ‘asks’, public consultation and the proposed local government structures, it was noted that

·        The Council was committed to working with partners and neighbouring local authorities through the process to pursue the best deal for York and North Yorkshire but that ultimately the Government would decide the best and most viable model.

·        Consultation with residents on the detail of the deal proposed by Government would be included as part of Our Big Conversation and the responses would be part of the final submission.

The Committee thanked the Leader and officers for their update and the Vice Chancellor of the University of York was also commended for his commitment to delivering the bio-tech and agri-tech centres.

Resolved: 

(i)           That the update be noted.

(ii)           That Scrutiny be actively involved throughout the whole devolution process and that the Leader of the Council be invited to attend a future Customer and Corporate Services Scrutiny Committee to present the published White Paper.

Reason: To ensure that the devolution proposals can be monitored and scrutinised throughout the whole process.

An adjournment took place at 3:04pm till 3:13pm.