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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, if the proposed consultation on the Sheffield City Region deal does not proceed, what alternative steps they will take to proceed with the devolution agreement.

If the leaders of the Sheffield City Region do not at some stage undertake the consultation, they will have chosen to walk away from the deal denying the people of the City Region some £1 billion investment from Government and the opportunity for the area to have new powers on transport, development, and skills. But as the Government has made clear, we remain committed to the deal and the mayoral election on 3 May 2018 for which Parliament has legislated. Even without devolved powers and budgets the election of such a mayor is not without benefits for the City Region, since the elected mayor would be a significant figure who would both be chair of the combined authority and could take their place as the voice of the city region alongside the other city region mayors in the Northern Powerhouse and in other forums with Government or stakeholders.