Here’s my take on the new Tees Mayor and his/her powers:
The directly elected Mayor of Tees Valley will Chair the Tees Valley Combined Authority (Mayor plus leaders of the five Tees boroughs: Hartlepool, Stockton, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland). The Tees Mayor will work as part of the Combined Authority subject to local democratic scrutiny, and in partnership with business, through Tees Valley Unlimited, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Tees Valley.
The Mayor will exercise functions devolved to the Combined Authority:
* Responsibility devolved from Government for a consolidated transport budget, with a multi-year settlement to be agreed at the Spending Review
* Creation of new Mayoral Development Corporations and leadership of a Land Commission to examine what publicly owned land and other key strategic sites should be vested in the Development Corporation
The Tees Valley Combined Authority, working with the Mayor, will exercise the following powers devolved to it:
* To create a Tees Valley Investment Fund, bringing together funding for devolved powers and used to deliver a 30 year programme of transformational investment in the region with access to the Local Growth Fund.
* Control of a new £15 million a year funding allocation over 30 years, to be included in the Tees Valley Investment Fund and invested to boost growth
* Leadership of the comprehensive review and redesign of the education, skills and employment support system in Tees Valley
* Responsibility for a devolved approach to business support from 2017, to be developed in partnership with Government.
Further powers may be agreed over time and included in future legislation.
The directly elected Mayor of Tees Valley will Chair the Tees Valley Combined Authority (Mayor plus leaders of the five Tees boroughs: Hartlepool, Stockton, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar & Cleveland). The Tees Mayor will work as part of the Combined Authority subject to local democratic scrutiny, and in partnership with business, through Tees Valley Unlimited, the Local Enterprise Partnership for Tees Valley.
The Mayor will exercise functions devolved to the Combined Authority:
* Responsibility devolved from Government for a consolidated transport budget, with a multi-year settlement to be agreed at the Spending Review
* Creation of new Mayoral Development Corporations and leadership of a Land Commission to examine what publicly owned land and other key strategic sites should be vested in the Development Corporation
The Tees Valley Combined Authority, working with the Mayor, will exercise the following powers devolved to it:
* To create a Tees Valley Investment Fund, bringing together funding for devolved powers and used to deliver a 30 year programme of transformational investment in the region with access to the Local Growth Fund.
* Control of a new £15 million a year funding allocation over 30 years, to be included in the Tees Valley Investment Fund and invested to boost growth
* Leadership of the comprehensive review and redesign of the education, skills and employment support system in Tees Valley
* Responsibility for a devolved approach to business support from 2017, to be developed in partnership with Government.
Further powers may be agreed over time and included in future legislation.
How many Mayors? Six “Metro Mayors” will be elected on May 4th: Greater Manchester, Liverpool, West Midlands, Tees Valley, West of England, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough. TURNOUT WILL BE LOW - an opportunity for us LibDems to continue our upward climb by getting our supporters out to vote! LibDems are the ONLY party on the up-and-up, plus a LibDem Mayor will be less hidebound by out-of-date policies. LibDem councillors, MPs and MEPs ALWAYS do more for the people - it’s in our DNA!