Futures Forum: Brexit: and devolution in the South West
Futures Forum: Brexit: and devolution >>> this will not include a Devon-and-Cornwall entity
Even though it's supposed to 'deliver' all sorts:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and devolution: "Devolution is a great opportunity after years of oppressive centralisation"
Futures Forum: Brexit: and the art of 'subsidiarity': or how to devolve power
Meanwhile, other areas are opting out:
Brexit has added uncertainty - with Whitehall unwilling to guarantee the same level of regional spending as currently provided by Brussels.
In Cornwall:
And now in the North East:
Government letters reveal North East’s devolution deal collapsed over EU funding fears after Brexit
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said the North East devolution deal was 'off the table'. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Dean Kirby Friday November 25th 2016
The Government’s £300m devolution deal for the North East collapsed after council leaders made repeated failed attempts to obtain what they felt were adequate assurances from Sajid Javid that the region’s EU funding would be sustained after Brexit.
Correspondence between the Communities Secretary and the North East Combined Authority shows that a majority of the region’s leaders still had “material concerns” about the loss of hundreds of millions in EU funds with less than three weeks to go before a crucial vote on September 6 at which they rejected the deal.
"Extensive discussions and negotiations have taken place with Government and within the region, but unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to reach an agreement which all of the seven local authorities feel able to support."
Paul Watson, chairman of the North East Combined Authority
The official letters, obtained by i under the Freedom of Information Act, show they held an urgent last-ditch meeting with Mr Javid at the end of August to try to resolve their concerns, after which he warned that any delay would mean the deal “would be lost” and the Government’s work on the project would “come to an end”.
As reported previously by i, members of the North East Combined Authority were unable to agree on September 6 about whether to accept the deal, which would have given the region a raft of new powers and £30m a year in return for establishing an elected mayor.
Four councils – Sunderland, Durham, South Tyneside and Gateshead – voted to reject it and only Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside voted in favour.
The i has learned that leaders of the North East Combined Authority started writing to the Government about their concerns over Brexit almost immediately after the EU Referendum. Read extracts from the letters here.
Members initially told the then Communities Secretary Greg Clark on July 7 they were concerned about the fate of the region’s £440m European Structural Funds up to 2020 and whether the money would be sustained after that date.
On July 27, they also warned Mr Clark’s replacement Sajid Javid they needed “urgent clarity” on the fate of the funds, and also asking if it was also “absolutely necessary” to have an elected mayor.
Mr Javid said in a reply on August 15 that the Government would ensure European Structure Funds agreed before the Autumn Statement would be fully-funded and arrangements were being made to also consider funding projects signed before Britain left the EU.
The North East Combined Authority responded on August 17 saying that Mr Javid’s letter did “clarify the Government’s position” on some of the key issues. But, calling for an urgent meeting, it added: “Despite this… some material concerns do remain in relation to funding for projects post the Autumn Statement and from 2020 onwards.”
Mr Javid warned after meeting regional leaders shortly before the North East’s crucial devolution vote on September 6 that any delay would jeopardise the Government’s ability to put the legislation through Parliament in time for the election of a North East mayor in May 2017.
The Government’s £300m devolution deal for the North East collapsed after council leaders made repeated failed attempts to obtain what they felt were adequate assurances from Sajid Javid that the region’s EU funding would be sustained after Brexit.
Correspondence between the Communities Secretary and the North East Combined Authority shows that a majority of the region’s leaders still had “material concerns” about the loss of hundreds of millions in EU funds with less than three weeks to go before a crucial vote on September 6 at which they rejected the deal.
"Extensive discussions and negotiations have taken place with Government and within the region, but unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to reach an agreement which all of the seven local authorities feel able to support."
Paul Watson, chairman of the North East Combined Authority
The official letters, obtained by i under the Freedom of Information Act, show they held an urgent last-ditch meeting with Mr Javid at the end of August to try to resolve their concerns, after which he warned that any delay would mean the deal “would be lost” and the Government’s work on the project would “come to an end”.
As reported previously by i, members of the North East Combined Authority were unable to agree on September 6 about whether to accept the deal, which would have given the region a raft of new powers and £30m a year in return for establishing an elected mayor.
Four councils – Sunderland, Durham, South Tyneside and Gateshead – voted to reject it and only Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside voted in favour.
The i has learned that leaders of the North East Combined Authority started writing to the Government about their concerns over Brexit almost immediately after the EU Referendum. Read extracts from the letters here.
Members initially told the then Communities Secretary Greg Clark on July 7 they were concerned about the fate of the region’s £440m European Structural Funds up to 2020 and whether the money would be sustained after that date.
On July 27, they also warned Mr Clark’s replacement Sajid Javid they needed “urgent clarity” on the fate of the funds, and also asking if it was also “absolutely necessary” to have an elected mayor.
Mr Javid said in a reply on August 15 that the Government would ensure European Structure Funds agreed before the Autumn Statement would be fully-funded and arrangements were being made to also consider funding projects signed before Britain left the EU.
The North East Combined Authority responded on August 17 saying that Mr Javid’s letter did “clarify the Government’s position” on some of the key issues. But, calling for an urgent meeting, it added: “Despite this… some material concerns do remain in relation to funding for projects post the Autumn Statement and from 2020 onwards.”
Mr Javid warned after meeting regional leaders shortly before the North East’s crucial devolution vote on September 6 that any delay would jeopardise the Government’s ability to put the legislation through Parliament in time for the election of a North East mayor in May 2017.
After council leaders rejected the deal at their September 6 meeting, they wrote to Mr Javid insisting they still “unambiguously supported” the principles of devolution.
‘Off the table’
But in a strongly worded reply, Mr Javid told them the deal was now “off the table” and he regretted that they had “walked away”.
Paul Watson, the chairman of the combined authority, said in a statement that the councils had been “clear” following the EU Referendum that the new Government “must provide assurances” about devolution.
He said: “Extensive discussions and negotiations have taken place with Government and within the region, but unfortunately, despite our best efforts, it has not been possible to reach an agreement which all of the seven local authorities feel able to support.”
In August, the Government guaranteed funding for European Structural Investment Fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement.
The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, went further in October and guaranteed projects to the point at which Britain leaves the EU, even where the funding agreement continues after Britain’s departure.
‘Disappointing’
A spokesman for the DCLG said the Government is “100 per cent committed” to devolution. He said: “It is disappointing that councils in the North East decided to walk away from £900m of funding and new powers, but ultimately this was a local decision. Devolution is a bottom up process and the terms of the North East deal – including a directly elected mayor – were originally proposed by the councils themselves.“
Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy hinted earlier this month that the Government’s door remained open to a break-away plan by Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland councils to resurrect the devolution deal by splitting from the four local authorities that had voted against it.
Government letters reveal North East's devolution deal collapsed over EU funding fears after Brexit - The i newspaper online iNews
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