Draft West Midlands Combined Authority (Election of Mayor) Order 2016

Debate between Grahame Morris and Andrew Percy

Tuesday 13th September 2016 General Committees

[Andrew Percy]

I thank Labour Members for their positive contributions. I take the shadow Minister at his word: I will be more than happy if he wants to work with us on our devolution agenda. We should, across the House, recognise, particularly after the referendum, that there is a feeling out there that people do not like the way they are governed. They feel that power is too centralised; they want more control over their lives and devolution is one way of giving them that. I thank him for outlining the Opposition’s support. The measure appears to be popular with certain Labour Members—they all seem to be scrabbling to become a Mayor somewhere.

[Grahame M. Morris]

I recognise the Minister’s new approach and give him credit for it, but I would like to point out, with respect, that particularly in rural areas, many of which are represented by Government Members, there are concerns that the best model for devolution is not necessarily a mayoral one. That is certainly a conclusion that has been reached in my own region. Will the Minister work with me to find an effective means, other than an imposed elected Mayor?

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Percy]

Not just in this area—I am talking about devolution deals across the country—there will be some counties that are on thirds, some that include county councils and some that have districts that are on all-out, so it is not possible to create a bespoke election day that will satisfy all the interests the right hon. Gentleman has raised. We have been clear that 2017 is the date when we want to introduce a number of mayoral elections throughout the UK, making good on the devolution deals that have been signed. Remember that his local authorities and local constituent councils have consented to this and to having a mayoral election next year. The timing will not, as I have said, be as it was with the PCC elections; the election will take place during the ordinary period of an election.

On the other points raised by the shadow Minister, I think I have dealt with the particular planning powers and competences that the new Mayor will take over from the HCA. I want to deal directly with his challenge on elected mayors. We have been clear that, where deals have already been negotiated, and those deals include the West Midlands and the north-east, which had already consented to a directly elected Mayor, those deals should proceed on the basis of what was agreed. I thought long and hard over the summer about the issue of mayors. Having my accent, if we dropped mayors, it would perhaps be a little easier for me because “mayors” is very difficult to say with a Hull accent. I thought long and hard about the matter over the summer. It is very difficult to design a system that does not include a Mayor and gives the level of accountability that we require and expect, particularly given the significant powers that will be conferred as part of these devolution deals. We have been clear that we remain open to working with local authorities on deals and it is for them to come up with robust governance structures, which we will consider. We are also clear that, if a local community wants the scale of devolution that has been offered, the extra money and the extra powers that are part of the deals that have already been negotiated and that the north-east was a signatory to, we expect an elected Mayor to be part of that, as the strongest form of accountability.

I regret what has happened with the north-east, but I hope that those councils will continue to work with Government. As the Minister responsible, I am open to continuing to work with those authorities—

[Grahame M. Morris]

Will the Minister give way?

[Andrew Percy]

I do not want to stray too much into the north-east.

[Grahame M. Morris]

I want clarification on a specific point.

[Grahame M. Morris]

On the West Midlands, retrospection and whether these changes would apply to the West Midlands, or anywhere else, I respectfully point out to the Minister that it was the Tees Valley deal that was signed up to, not the North East Combined Authority deal, which was rejected.

[Andrew Percy]

I am afraid that that is not wholly the case. All the local authorities in the north-east consented to the mayoral element as part of the deal they signed. They consented to that—they were required to consent before we could move any further forward. On that issue, we are clear that deals that were negotiated must be completed as agreed.

The right hon. Member for Warley used the term, “forced”. We have not forced anybody to agree to this. If members do not wish to be part of this, they do not have to be. The constituent councils can choose not to be. Local councils have obviously signed up. I think that I have dealt with his concern about the issue of a Mayor—no one has yet provided me with an alternative structure in which there is strong accountability and a strong central figure. We have also dealt with the election issue and the criticisms of the PCC elections, which are not relevant, given the timing of these elections.

As for the area, again, as I have made absolutely clear, if this were to expand beyond the seven authorities, a further order would be required here in Parliament, as well as the consent of the combined authority and of those non-constituent councils that wished to become full members of the combined authority. Clearly, nothing would be forced on a local council unless it consents to it and wishes to be a part of the process.

With that, I think I have dealt with all the concerns expressed by the Members who have spoken, including the shadow Minister. We believe that the draft order represents the right deal for the West Midlands. We will make good on the deal signed between the Government and the West Midlands Combined Authority and on our pledge to devolve power to local communities.

Question put.

Draft Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority (Election of Mayor) Order 2016

Debate between Grahame Morris and Andrew Percy

Tuesday 19th July 2016 General Committees

[Andrew Percy]

It is a delight to have the hon. Member for Easington as my shadow Minister today. We did, as he said, serve on the Health Committee together. I think we got on all right. I will not sully his career any further by saying that we agreed on things. I am not sure that would be welcome in today’s Labour party, but we did get on very well and it is a pleasure to see him across the room today.

I will not deal with the issue of EU funding again; that would be straying, Mr Gray. I think I was quite clear on that. We are still a member of the European Union and until we leave, nothing has changed. In terms of the consultation, we have been quite clear that it is for local authorities themselves to determine how they engage with the public on these devolution deals. They are the democratically elected representatives of their areas. If they wish to adopt a devolution deal on this model, including an elected mayor, that is for the local authorities to determine.

I spent 10 years as a councillor on Hull City Council in Yorkshire. One problem with accountability and responsibility as a city councillor is that we did not have anybody speaking for our city as a single voice, and there was a weakness in that. I take the point that not every model necessarily works everywhere, but I want to see regional faces more involved in policy making down here and in policy development. Our traditional local authority structure sometimes makes that difficult. Leaders come and leaders go; they do not always speak for the whole of their council and authority. Having somebody who is a name with specific powers can be positive although, of course, there are always arguments on both sides. The more we can get people whom the public can see are clearly accountable, the better. That is something I always believed when I was a councillor.

I also welcome the shadow Minister’s tacit support for more devolution.

[Grahame M. Morris]

May I clarify? It is not tacit support. For more years than I care to remember, I have been an enthusiastic proponent and supporter of devolution, but it needs to be real devolution. On the issue of a precondition of an elected mayor, I know the Minister is honest and sincere, but the truth is that that has been a gun held to the heads of local government leaders: if they want this deal, they must accept an elected mayor. I think that is fundamentally wrong.

[Andrew Percy]

I have dealt with the mayoral issue as best I can. On devolution, having served as a local authority councillor for 10 years, I think the Government are doing a great deal more than previous ones to devolve powers. I sat in a local authority where we were constantly told what to do by central Government. We were repeatedly told we were being given powers and some funding. Occasionally that funding would appear for two or three years and then disappear. We would take on all the responsibilities and get none of the resources.

This Government have gone much further than any in recent history to reinvigorate local government and communities through this devolution package, which local authorities are free to accept or decline as they see fit for their area.

We will not stray into local authority funding today but the budgets have been broadly flat. Many local authorities in this particular area receive a lot more per head than those in other areas, including mine. On expansion, I can confirm to the shadow Minister that there is a consultation out at the moment to expand the area, including Chesterfield, Bassetlaw and other councils in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. I spoke to my parliamentary neighbour the hon. Member for Bassetlaw (John Mann), one of the shadow Minister’s colleagues, last night. He is a big supporter of this, as are many people in the region. We would have to table an order to extend the area and we would expect that to happen later this year. Those areas will be included if they choose to join the mayoral model before the elections. Their electors will then take part in the mayoral elections next year. It would be wrong to include them after that, in my view.

I think I have dealt with the shadow Minister’s points. I welcome his enthusiastic—not tacit—support for devolution. I commend the order as the start of an exciting process for South Yorkshire, north Nottinghamshire and north Derbyshire.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Grahame Morris and Andrew Percy

Monday 18th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Percy]

I know of the work my hon. Friend has been doing in St Austell and Newquay on this issue. He is a doughty fighter for his constituents. I am happy to meet him this week to discuss just that.

[Grahame M. Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Assurances on EU structural funds—£5.3 billion of funds for local government—is a key issue. With respect to the Minister, whom I welcome to his place, may I, as an MP representing a northern constituency, point out that only one of the top 15 infrastructure projects receiving the most public funding is in the north? What assurances can he give that leaving the EU will not widen the economic divide in our country, and what guarantees can he give that investment from the EU will be maintained up to and after Brexit for the UK?

[Andrew Percy]

I thank the shadow Minister for his kind words. If he had seen the new Prime Minister speak outside No. 10 when she took office, he would know that she is clear that delivering economic development across the United Kingdom outside London is a key priority. That is exactly what we have done through our devolution process, the local growth fund initiative, £12 billion of funding, and commitments such as High Speed 2 that go way beyond anything promised by the hon. Gentleman’s Government on transport in the north of England.