Other areas consider mayors in exchange for devolution

Speaking to HSJ’s sister title Local Government Chronicle in the wake of last week’s announcement that the Greater Manchester Combined Authority was to be handed responsibility for the area’s £6bn NHS and social care budget, the chairs of the Liverpool and Sheffield city region combined authorities indicated they would contemplate mayors.

A number of other areas were adamant they would not agree to an elected mayor. The vice chair of one prospective combined authority said taking on the health budget would be a “step too far”.

• New health chief to oversee Manchester’s devolved budget
• Counties should get health devolution, says report
• Tout: Other major cities will soon be demanding their own health devolution plan

Announcing the deal last week, chancellor George Osborne said Greater Manchester had “set a trail” that other places could follow.

However, he indicated an elected mayor was a prerequisite of any further deals.

Mr Osborne told LGC: “Greater Manchester has taken a lead in saying it’s going to have an elected mayor who will bring together this combined authority working in a collaborative way and working across parties and, as a result, Greater Manchester has much greater control of its transport, skills, policing and now the NHS and integration with social care.

“I think they have set a trail for the rest of the country to follow. But I’m not going to impose any model on other parts of the country. It’s for local communities to decide how they best want to be governed, and we will respond to that.”

The agreement covers the entire health and social care system, including primary care and social care, mental health, acute and community services, and public health.

Phil Davies, chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, said similar asks around health and social care were included in the devolution proposals for the area currently being discussed with the government, alongside more control over transport, infrastructure, housing and skills.

Cllr Davies, the leader of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council, said talks to date had deliberately avoided governance structures. However, he said if the imposition of an elected mayor was “the only game in town” his personal view was that the combined authority should “put the question to the people of the city region and let them decide”.

Sir Stephen Houghton, chair of the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority and leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, told LGC his area was interested in gaining control of health and social care budgets. The deal the combined authority agreed before Christmas does not include an elected mayor and has much less freedom than Greater Manchester’s.

Given the ultimatum of having a mayor or not getting control of health and social care funding, Sir Stephen said he would “leave the door open”. He said: “At the end of the day, if that’s the choice then we will have to sit back and work out what we want to do.”

Peter Box, West Yorkshire Combined Authority chair and leader of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, said his region would also be interested in greater control over health and social care.

However, he called Mr Osborne’s “obsession” with elected mayors an attempt to change governance structures “by stealth”. He said mayors had been rejected in four referendums in his area in 2012.

Nick Forbes, leader of Newcastle City Council and North East Combined Authority member, said devolved health and social care was “not something we are discussing at the moment” but could be something they would consider for the “next stage” of devolution.

Darlington, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton on Tees borough councils and Middlesbrough Council are in the process of formally setting up a combined authority with a view to seeking devolved powers and funding for strategic transport infrastructure, economic development, business investment, and employment and skills.

Bill Dixon, vice chair of Tees Valley Unlimited local enterprise partnership and leader of Darlington Borough Council, told LGC that including health in its proposals would be “possibly a step too far” and added he was “definitely not interested” in having an elected mayor.