A proposed devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire
This overview provides details of the consultation on the form and function of the proposed devolution arrangement for the people of York and North Yorkshire, announced on 1 August 2022. There is also a video summary to help your understanding available at the bottom of this page.
Under the proposed deal, the region will gain local control of funding to spend on the things that matter to the people of York and North Yorkshire. This will include £540 million of new Government investment to spend on local priorities to produce growth, together with a range of devolved powers.
The proposed deal means that people who know and understand our area will take decisions across key areas, such as the economy, housing and regeneration, skills and transport, in and for York and North Yorkshire. This will bring greater benefits for our city, rural and coastal communities, improvements to people’s quality of life and help to drive green economic growth for a carbon negative future.
This devolution deal is dependent upon establishing a Combined Authority for the area with an elected Mayor.
What is devolution?
Devolution is the transfer of money and functions from Whitehall and central Government to sub- regions, to enable decisions that are a priority locally to be made locally. A Mayoral Combined Authority which will be led by a Mayor, who is elected to serve local people, can make these decisions. In addition, there are a small number of transport functions currently held by York and North Yorkshire councils that will move to the Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA).
Where the Mayor or the MCA is given a function or power, this is called “conferring”. You will see this word appear several times in this document.
The Local Government Association gives the following definition of what a Combined Authority is:
“A combined authority (CA) is a legal body set up using national legislation that enables a group of two or more councils to collaborate and take / collective decisions across council boundaries. It is far more robust than an informal partnership or even a joint committee. The creation of a CA means that member councils can be more ambitious in their joint working and can take advantage of powers and resources devolved to them from national government. While established by Parliament, CAs are locally owned and have to be initiated and supported by the councils involved.”
What is happening?
The devolution process requires several steps, by law. This summer (2022) the York and North Yorkshire constituent councils carefully considered the ‘minded to’ devolution deal. This can be found on the Government's website.
In addition, a governance review was undertaken to consider options, which concluded that establishing a MCA model of governance for York and North Yorkshire would have a positive impact on the interests and identities of local communities, and support services being delivered efficiently and effectively.
The review also proposed that a document is published that sets out proposed role and functions of a Combined Authority.
This is called a scheme. The scheme is a key part of the process required by law to make changes to current local governance arrangements. The scheme forms the basis of this consultation. There is more information on the scheme later on in this document.
This scheme is subject to an eight-week public consultation across York and North Yorkshire. The consultation is running between 21st October and 16th December 2022.
We have set out the detail of how we propose that devolution will work in York and North Yorkshire and we want to know what you think.
Devolution could bring about important change in York and North Yorkshire and therefore it is important for you to have your say. You can have your say by:
- Completing our online survey by visiting www.ynydevolution.com
- Completing a hard copy consultation document and returning it with the envelope provided (addresses are also available at the end of this document) or to the help desk at your local library.
- Emailing us at enquiries@ynydevolution.com
- Attending an event - face to face or online (visit www.ynydevolution.com for a full list of events.)
- Sharing your views by social media or voting in one of the social media polls (visit www.ynydevolution.com to see our full list of social channels)
We want to ensure that residents and businesses across York and North Yorkshire are informed and enabled to take part in the consultation. Gathering your views is a vital part of the process and we very much look forward to your responses.
To complete this overview, please read the Consultation document linked below. There is also a video summary to help your understanding available at the bottom of this page.
For a paper copy of the consultation document please use one of the following options:
- Obtain a paper copy from one of the libraries in your local area.
- Contact the City of York or North Yorkshire County Council offices to request for a printed copy of the survey.
- You can attend one of the public events in your local area that will be published on the www.ynydevolution.com website from week beginning 31st October
- There is a print at home version of the consultation document available on this platform. This can be completed and returned to your local library or the council offices detailed above OR scanned and emailed to enquiries@ynydevolution.com
See the full overview document
The devolution deal can be viewed on the GOV.UK website