Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on their engagement with local communities when drawing up proposals for a combined authority.

My Department has not issued any such guidance. Statute requires that there must be a public consultation - either by the local authorities themselves or the Secretary of State - on any proposal to establish a combined authority, and before proceeding with an order to implement such a proposal, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that no further consultation is necessary.