My Lords, these regulations provide for the implementation of the devolution deal agreed between the Government and four councils—Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council—on 30 August 2022. Since then, we have been working closely with the councils on the implementation of the deal, which is an important contribution to the Government’s levelling-up agenda increasing opportunity, investment and prosperity in the East Midlands. The four councils consented to the making of these regulations on 15 December 2023.
The regulations, if approved by Parliament and made, will establish the East Midlands Combined County Authority and the office of mayor for the area. This will be the first of a new type of local government institution, a mayoral combined county authority, made possible by the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. The essential feature of a combined county authority is that only upper-tier authorities, that is county councils and unitary authorities, can be constituent members of the combined authority, with a requirement that there must be at least two constituents. This does not mean that, where a constituent authority is a county council, the district councils in the area cannot be involved and have a voice within the combined county authority on matters which could affect them.
In the East Midlands it is envisaged, as set out in the devolution deal, that the constituent members will invite the district councils to be represented by four non-constituent members, two from Derbyshire districts and two from Nottinghamshire districts. It will be for the district councils to decide who their representatives will be. These non-constituent members can be given voting rights on certain matters, as decided by the constituent members. In addition, district councils will be invited by the combined county authority to nominate certain of their members to serve on the combined county authority’s overview and scrutiny committee and audit committee. These committees will have important roles for the accountability of the combined county authority and of the mayor to the people of the East Midlands.
The central feature of the East Midlands Combined County Authority that the regulations provide is that there will be a directly elected mayor for the area. The mayor will provide a single point of accountability essential for the powers and budgets being devolved.
The regulations provide for the first mayoral election to take place on 2 May 2024. The elected mayor will then take up office on 7 May, with a four-year term ending after the next mayoral election in May 2028. Thereafter, there will be elections every fourth year, to be held on the ordinary day of election for the year, which is the first Thursday in May. Following the enactment of the Elections Act 2022, these mayoral elections will be on a first past the post basis.
The regulations also make provision for the overall governance arrangements of the combined county authority. Each constituent council will appoint two of its members to the combined county authority. One of these members will act as the constituent council’s lead member. This means that the combined county authority will have a mayor and a total of eight constituent members.
The mayor will be the chair of the East Midlands Combined County Authority and will appoint a deputy mayor from one of the constituent members. The combined county authority may, in addition, arrange for there to be up to eight non-constituent or associate members. As I have mentioned, it is the intention of the East Midlands authorities that the district councils should nominate four non-constituent members.
The combined county authority will be established the day after the day on which the regulations are made. Until the elected mayor takes office, it will be for the constituent members to decide how they will conduct business, including arrangements for chairing any meetings.
In addition to certain generic functions that all mayoral combined county authorities have, the regulations also confer significant functions on the combined county authority, as agreed in the devolution deal. Many of these functions are currently functions of a public authority, such as Homes England or the Greater London Authority, or indeed functions of the Secretary of State. As required by the 2023 Act, alongside these regulations we have laid a Section 20(6) report, which provides details about the public authority functions being devolved to the combined county authority.
Certain of the functions conferred on the combined county authority are to be exercised only by the mayor. In addition, the mayor will have powers, as mayors of combined county authorities generally do, to issue a precept, if they so choose, to cover the costs of mayoral functions which are not being met by other resources available to the combined county authority. The functions conferred by the regulations include those on housing and regeneration, mayoral development corporations, transport, public health, and education and skills. I will address each in turn. The essential features of these functions are as follows.
To improve the supply and quality of housing and to facilitate the regeneration of the East Midlands, Homes England powers will be conferred on the combined county authority and will be held concurrently with Homes England. These powers will enable the combined county authority, working closely with Homes England, to promote housing and regeneration, and will include the compulsory purchase of land. This will be a mayoral function, and any decisions will also require certain local consents, including the consent of the district council if the proposed land for purchase falls within its area, and that of the Peak District National Park Authority should the land fall within its geographical boundary.
The regulations provide for the mayor to have power to designate mayoral development areas within the geography of the East Midlands Combined County Authority to support the development of strategic sites. This is the first step in establishing a mayoral development corporation; further regulations would be necessary to create such a body. Powers relating to such a corporation are to be exercised by the mayor. As with the compulsory purchase powers, local consents are also necessary. District council consent is required should the proposed development area sit within a district’s geographical boundaries. Similarly, the consent of the Peak District National Park Authority would be required if any part of the development area were within the national park.
The combined county authority is to become the East Midlands transport authority. The mayor is to have control over a consolidated and devolved transport budget, with the power to pay grants to the constituent councils in relation to the exercise of their highways functions to improve and maintain roads. The mayor may also pay grants to bus service operators for eligible bus services operating within the East Midlands area. Grants must be calculated in accordance with any regulations made by the Secretary of State.
Local authority public health functions are to be conferred on the combined county authority, enabling it to deliver public health initiatives throughout its area and in support of the local authorities in the East Midlands. The combined county authority is to be required to adhere to Section 2B(1) of the National Health Service Act 2006, which places a duty on a local authority to take steps as it considers appropriate to improve the health of the people in its area. This responsibility will be held concurrently with the combined county authority’s constituent councils. None of the constituent councils’ public health functions is transferred from the councils to the combined county authority.
Finally on functions, I mention that the devolution deal also provides for the devolution of certain education and skill functions, together with the adult education budget. As agreed with the area, further regulations for these functions will be brought forward later this year with the aim, subject to Parliament’s approval, of the combined county authority being responsible for these functions from the academic year 2025-26.
These regulations will be made, if Parliament approves, under the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. As provided for by that Act, Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council consulted on a proposal to establish the combined county authority based on the East Midlands devolution deal. They promoted the consultation by a number of means, including a dedicated website; two online events in which residents and stakeholders could make their views known; and a communications campaign. Responses could be made online or directly by email or paper. The councils also undertook stakeholder engagement with businesses, the voluntary sector and key institutions in the East Midlands.
The public consultation ran from 14 November 2022 to 9 January 2023. A total of more than 4,800 people responded to that consultation. As required by the 2023 Act, the councils preparing the proposal provided the Secretary of State with a summary to the responses to the consultation on 1 November 2023, after the enactment of the 2023 Act. The Act provides that a consultation carried out before it came into force can be considered as fulfilling the requirement in it to consult. The majority of respondents supported all aspects of the proposal with one exception. On the establishment of the mayor, 48% of those who took part in the consultation supported the proposal, with 52% opposing it.
The role of the mayor is integral to the proposal. Many aspects of the proposal supported by residents are available only to an institution that is led by a strong, accountable, directly elected leader such as a mayor. Those opposed to a mayor raised concerns about the cost of a mayor, the consolidation of power in an individual and adding an additional tier of governance to local government. In contrast, those supporting the approach of a directly elected mayor referred to the benefits that it could bring to the area in accountability, leadership and providing a voice for the region at national and international levels.
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In laying these regulations before Parliament, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the statutory tests in the 2023 Act are met, namely that no further consultation is necessary and that the constituent councils have consented to the establishment of the combined county authority, which would: be likely to improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of some or all of the people who live or work in the area; be appropriate, having regard to the need to reflect the identities of local communities and to secure effective and convenient local government; and achieve the purposes specified in the constituent councils’ consultation.
Most importantly, the making of these regulations opens a way to providing very considerable funding for the area, as set out in the devolution deal. The combined county authority will have £38 million per year of investment funding for 30 years. That total of £1.14 billion is to be invested by the combined county authority to drive growth and take forward its priorities over the long term. The combined county authority will also have access to: £17 million-worth for the building of new homes on brownfield land, which will be available in 2024-25 subject to sufficient eligible projects for funding being identified; £18 million of capital funding to support the delivery of housing priorities and drive net-zero ambitions in the East Midlands area; and the East Midlands allocation of the UK shared prosperity fund.
At this point, I pay special tribute to local leaders and their councils for all that they have done, and continue to do, to address local priorities and support businesses, industry and communities across the East Midlands. These regulations, which are supported locally, are a significant step forward for the East Midlands, its businesses and its communities. They are key to the future economic growth and regeneration of the East Midlands and will enable local leaders to invest in and address local priorities effectively. I commend the draft regulations to the Committee.