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

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 General Committees

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

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Streeter. As the Minister has already indicated, the order is narrow; it deals with the appointment of the Mayor, the area covered by the order, the date of the elections and the period of office. However, there are some matters that the Committee should consider, and I would welcome some clarification from him.

As the Minister has already indicated, we have discussed the statutory instruments for the election of Mayors for the Liverpool city region, Manchester, the Sheffield city region and the Tees Valley Combined Authority. I am conscious that the terms of the order are narrow and apply specifically to the West Midlands, so I am sure that hon. Members will be relieved to hear that I will not repeat anything that I have said previously.

[The Chair]

Quite right.

[Grahame M. Morris]

Thank you, Mr Streeter. It is important that I point out that the Labour party firmly supports the idea of devolution, and has done in both government and opposition. We back calls and support measures to devolve meaningful powers and appropriate resources to local communities. For such devolution to work, it is essential that local government have both political accountability—referred to in the order—and financial capability, which is not covered by the order, to ensure that the powers can be adequately exercised. My concern—this has been pointed out by my right hon. and hon. Friends—is that without sufficient resources the Government’s devolution proposals will simply mean an unpopular top-down restructuring of local government without any meaningful changes for our constituents.

The Labour party does not oppose elected Mayors in principle but it strongly objects to their being imposed as a prerequisite of any devolution deal. It has been widely reported in the press that the new Prime Minister is not so closely wedded to the idea of the imposition of Mayors as a precondition as her predecessor was. Will the Minister, in his response, clarify the Government’s policy as to whether the requirement of an elected Mayor is to be dropped from future deals and whether the new arrangements will be applied retrospectively? Will a combined authority that previously had a Mayor imposed be able to implement an alternative government structure should that be desired? That is relevant to the order because, if there is a subsequent change of heart, or some application of flexibility, we need to know whether that flexibility could be applied retrospectively in areas such as the West Midlands.

I also note the concerns that have been expressed locally regarding the remit and powers of the position of Mayor in the West Midlands, which has been described variously, including as “a toothless tiger” by the police and crime commissioner.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has a strong export and economic base but it faces challenges in the years ahead, particularly as we navigate the uncertainties caused by Brexit. The west midlands has the reputation of being the workshop of the country. It is the third largest exporting region. It is strategically important, as home to important companies including Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and Rolls-Royce. More than 300,000 people are employed in manufacturing, many of them members of my union.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has, in the past, been unfairly referred to as “Greater Birmingham”. Given the terms of the order, that description perhaps is inaccurate and understates the size of the authority. It will be a huge combined authority with a population of more than 4 million, covering the metropolitan areas of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall and some of the neighbouring more rural areas. With North Warwickshire, Rugby, Stafford, Shropshire and Warwickshire councils all set to join, it will become one of the largest of the new combined authorities.

Some of my right hon. and hon. Friends in the west midlands and, in particular, my right hon. Friends the Members for Warley and for Birmingham, Edgbaston, have raised concerns that the expansion might significantly alter the make-up of the proposed combined authority, which was originally intended to be a natural amalgamation of the seven concurrent metropolitan authorities. I took the trouble to look back at the 2015 Conservative manifesto and the mandate for the changes and proposals specifically refers to larger cities, so I would welcome some clarification from the Minister on that.

There are concerns, particularly from some Government Members, that the arrangement may lead to a disparity in the allocation of funding between the urban and rural counties of the combined authorities. In instances where the scope of the prospective combined authority has significantly changed since a deal was signed—originally it consisted of the seven concurrent metropolitan authorities, but it has since been extended to cover the areas set out in the statutory instrument—will there be an opportunity to revisit that if the order is passed?

We should take every opportunity to involve the public in the devolution process. Unfortunately, it seems that the Government do not share my party’s commitment, as significant concerns have been raised both nationally and in the West Midlands regarding the timing of the first mayoral election in May 2017. It is a significant issue if we believe in having a legitimate mandate.

The terribly low turnouts—sometimes 20% or less—for the police and crime commissioners elections have raised concerns about the legitimacy of such mandates. I hope the Minister and his advisers have considered that in proposing in the order an election in May 2017, as that may well affect turnout adversely. The election falls in an off-year for local council elections in the area covered by the order. Turnout may well be considerably lower than hoped for and may negatively affect the Mayor’s mandate once elected. Can the Minister confirm whether such local factors were considered when the decision to have the election in May was finally approved and drafted into the order?

I know the Minister is new in his post and I hope he makes this one of his priorities. I also hope he will work with me and the Opposition to deliver effective changes for local government and, in particular, for the people of the West Midlands.

--- Later in debate ---

[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?

[The Chair]

Let us not stray too far from the West Midlands Combined Authority.

--- 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.

[The Chair]

Grahame Morris on the West Midlands.

[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.