South Yorkshire devolution deal discarded as councils remain divided

The agreed £900m devolution deal for the Sheffield City Region (SCR) appears to have been scrapped following a meeting of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority on Monday morning.

The leaders of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield councils could not reach an agreement on how to move devolution forward in South Yorkshire, which was to initiate public consultation on mayoral powers relating to devolution.

Barnsley and Doncaster councils have decided to back a Yorkshire-wide devolution deal, which partners with 15 other councils in the region, rather than going ahead with the proposed SCR deal which Sheffield and Rotherham are supporting.

As thing stand, a mayoral election for the SCR Combined Authority is still set to go ahead in May 2018, but the elected mayor would have significantly less power.

The £900m deal with the SCR, which now appears dead in the water, would have seen the elected mayor have access to an envelope of £30m a year for 30 years, enabling Sheffield to use new funding to boost local growth and invest in local manufacturing and innovation.

Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton CBE, Leader of Barnsley Council and Mayor Ros Jones CBE, Mayor of Doncaster, released the following statement:

The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority met to consider the future of devolution in our region. It follows a number of significant developments that have taken place since the original devolution proposal was brought forward two years ago.

They include the UK’s decision to leave the EU, a judicial review finding against the Sheffield City Region, and both Bassetlaw and Chesterfield withdrawing from their plans to become full members of the City Region, leaving just the four South Yorkshire authorities.

We’ve carefully considered all the options. These are important decisions that we must get right for our businesses and residents. These decisions affect the next 30 years. There is no way back once a deal is signed. When we began on this journey to Sheffield City Region devolution we were big supporters, and we still fully support devolution.

The Government is now steering towards bigger regional, rather than city region, deals. Sheffield City Region’s deal without all the original nine local authorities is too small.

A Yorkshire-wide devolution deal will be economically and politically advantageous. It will allow strategic interventions and public service reform. Brexit requires us to organise at scale to get us to where we need to be.

The Yorkshire coalition of the willing is coming together and collaborating. 17 councils are signing up to a wider Yorkshire collaboration. We need to be part of this - even if we have to wait.

Such an agreement would be similar in scope to the existing devolution model in the West Midlands. We remain of the opinion that this bottom-up approach, involving a coalition of the willing and covering the widest possible geography, would be the most beneficial for people and businesses in Barnsley and Doncaster.

With the above in mind, this morning Barnsley and Doncaster Council confirmed that we don’t wish to proceed with the proposed Sheffield City Region consultation.

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