Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she will make it her policy to introduce combined mayoral authorities only in areas where they have been approved through a local referendum.

There is an existing statutory process for establishing combined authorities, including the requirement for a public consultation. Government is currently carrying out such public consultations in the areas in the Devolution Priority Programme. The results of these consultations will inform decisions on whether the statutory tests have been met to proceed with the necessary secondary legislation to establish the combined authorities. The consultations are not a referendum, and these are not a requirement for devolution.