Councils 'losing out on cash' due to mayoral delays

Councils in the south of England say they are being denied millions of pounds in extra funding while mayoral regions in the North stand to benefit from a major devolution package.

Last week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced plans to give metro mayors in England a share of income tax revenues for the first time, as part of efforts to shift power away from Westminster.

Local authorities in the Thames Valley, Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight are now urging the government to accelerate plans for mayoral elections, arguing they risk missing out on future funding and investment.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.

The government has previously said all communities will benefit from the changes and that it has yet to decide what proportion of funding mayors will receive, with more details to be announced when Chancellor John Healey delivers his first budget in the autumn.

But Donna Jones, Conservative candidate for Solent mayor and the region's current police and crime commissioner, accused the prime minister of an "economically reckless north‑first approach".

She said delays to mayoral elections meant promises of greater powers for mayors "ring hollow" and claimed the Solent area was missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds.

"If he genuinely believed in levelling up every region of Britain, he would bring forward mayoral elections to next year, rather than leaving the South waiting while the North takes priority," she said.

Nick Adams-King, the Conservative, chair of the Hampshire and the Solent Combined County Authority, said: "Giving mayoral authorities a direct share of the revenues generated by their own economies will strengthen local accountability and provide a more sustainable financial foundation for long-term investment.

"If these substantial new responsibilities and funding streams are beginning to come into effect from next year, our area should have a directly elected mayor with a fresh democratic mandate at the earliest opportunity."

Adams-King said he made the case to bring forward the election directly to ministers Louise Haigh and Angela Rayner during a call last week.

And in Oxfordshire, the county council's Liberal Democrat leader Tim Bearder has invited Andy Burnham to visit the area, calling for support for a Thames Valley mayor.

Leaders in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Swindon had been working together on plans for a Thames Valley mayoral strategic authority but, in April, the government asked the region to instead form a foundation strategic authority (FSA).

An FSA comes with fewer local powers and with no elected mayor, and although the government describes it as a "stepping stone" to becoming an MSA, it will not be getting a mayor anytime soon.

Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) councils' bid to be part of a Wessex mayoral authority along with Somerset and Wiltshire was rejected by the government for not being advanced enough - but Dorset Council leader Nick Ireland said it was now ready.

"We have been ready to go for a while, we've been in regular contact with [the government] and we'd like Andy (Burnham) to sign it off please.

"We're missing out on lots of things. They're well documented, I'm not going into the details but we wouldn't be pursuing the devolution if it wasn't for the benefit of our residents.

"We are looking for him to come through on his words about devolving power, growth in local postcodes so, we are ready.

"We would like the powers as soon as possible because the sooner we get the powers so that we can make a difference."

Burnham has put devolution at the heart of his plan for government, arguing that metro mayors are best placed to boost economic growth across the country.

Previously, he has said the changes would "make good" on his pledge to "bring power home" to "every postcode in the country".

"Under our plans, more of the taxes raised in a community will stay in that community," the prime minister added.

Additional reporting by Jason Lewis and Rufus Pickles from the Local Democracy Reporting Service and BBC Oxford's political reporter Victoria Walton

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