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

To ask Her Majesty's Government in what ways the South Tees Development Corporation is accountable to the Treasury; and what involvement they have, if any, in the decisions made by the Corporation in relation to approving bids for investment.

Following the devolution of mayoral development corporation powers to the Tees Valley Combined Authority, and the designation by the Tees Valley Mayor, the Government was required to seek Parliamentary approval to the Order establishing the South Tees Development Corporation. The object of the South Tees Development Corporation is to secure the regeneration of its area, and it may do anything it considers appropriate for these purposes. It is not accountable to the Treasury; it is accountable to the Tees Valley Mayor who decided to establish it. The Mayor is also the Chair of the South Tees Development Corporation and appoints its members. The Mayor is accountable to the Combined Authority and the Tees Valley electorate.

Any requests made for national public funding by the Tees Valley Combined Authority or the South Tees Development Corporation are assessed by the relevant Department and, where appropriate, Her Majesty’s Treasury in line with the guidelines of ‘Managing Public Money’. As part of its devolution deal the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been given an investment fund of £15m a year for 30 years. The Combined Authority has responsibility for how it will invest these funds within the scope of an agreed assurance framework, which sets out how they will appraise, monitor and evaluate schemes to achieve value for money. Investment decisions made by the Mayor and the Combined Authority are subject to the agreement of the Combined Authority and local scrutiny. An independent panel will assess the impact of investments on economic growth at five yearly Gateway Reviews. Further information on the governance arrangements of the South Tees Development Corporation is available (attached) on its website: https://www.southteesdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/STDC-17-18-Signed-Annual-Governance-Statement.pdf and https://www.southteesdc.com/about-us/transparency-required-information/