North East Mayoral Combined Authority
North East Mayoral Combined Authority within England
Type
Type
History
FoundedFrom 6 May 2024
Leadership
North East Mayor
TBD
since 6 May 2024
Structure
Joint committees
North East Joint Transport Committee

The North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA) is a planned mayoral combined authority area in the North East of England. It will cover the counties of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear, as well as the County Durham council area, but will exclude the Teesside boroughs which also form part of the North East region. It will consist of eight members: the directly-elected Mayor for the North East and an appointed representative from the seven constituent councils of the combined authority area.[1][2]

It was announced on 28 December 2022 in the North East devolution deal and will be operational from May 2024. It will replace the existing North East Combined Authority and North of Tyne Combined Authority.[1] The first election for the authority will take place on 2 May 2024.

History

The Tyne and Wear County Council was abolished in 1986 alongside other metropolitan county governments. In 2004, a referendum was held in the North East region to establish a devolved assembly, which was rejected by voters.[3]

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) was established in April 2014, including seven councils: Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Newcastle and Northumberland.[4] A devolution deal was agreed, including the creation of a mayor to be elected in 2017. In September 2016, that deal broke down, as the leaders south of the Tyne were worried about the loss of EU funding, and in 2017 no mayor was elected.[5]

From 2 November 2018, the boundaries of NECA were reduced to Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside.[4] The remaining areas left to form a mayoral combined authority called the North of Tyne Combined Authority.[3] The division of the Tyneside built up area into two combined authorities was criticised.[5]

In the Levelling Up white paper, the Government announced a larger mayoral combined authority would be created for the region. Durham was to negotiate a separate county deal.[3] On 28 December 2022, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove announced a £1.4 billion devolution deal. The deal included the establishment of a unified mayoral combined authority, with a mayor to be elected in 2024.[6] Martin Gannon, leader of Gateshead Council, said local councils were being forced into the deal and that it did not represent levelling up; he said he agreed with its introduction nevertheless.[7] The seven local councils approved the final plans for the NEMCA on 9 November 2023, subject to approval by the chief executives of the councils, to allow for the Secretary of State to make the order for the NEMCA to be established.[8]

Geography

Constituent councils of the NEMCA
County Unitary authorities Council
Northumberland Northumberland Northumberland Council
Tyne and Wear City of Newcastle Newcastle City Council
North Tyneside North Tyneside Council
South Tyneside South Tyneside Council
Gateshead Gateshead Council
City of Sunderland Sunderland City Council
County Durham County Durham Durham County Council

Governance

NEMCA will have eight voting members and two non-voting members:[1]

  • the Mayor
  • a member for each council
  • the Chair of the Business Board
  • a representative of the Community and Voluntary sector

The Mayor will provide leadership to the combined authority and chair combined authority meetings. A deputy Mayor will be appointed from among the voting members of the authority and the Mayor may delegate mayoral functions to authority members.[1]

Mayoral functions

The functions devolved to the Mayor are:[1]

  • housing and regeneration
  • education, skills and training
  • the adult education budget
  • the functional power of competence
  • housing and planning, including mayoral development areas and corporations, land and acquisition powers
  • finance, through council precepts and business rate supplements
  • transport, including bus grants and franchising powers

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "North East devolution deal". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  2. ↑ https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/media/28957/North-East-Devolution-Scheme/pdf/Scheme_-_final.pdf?m=638103399897930000
  3. 1 2 3 "Devolution to the North of Tyne". The Institute for Government. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 North East Combined Authority Profile (PDF) (Report). June 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. 1 2 Cities, Centre (26 November 2017). "North of Tyne devolution - a victory for pragmatism over perfection". Centre for Cities. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  6. ↑ "North East mayor created as part of £1.4bn devolution deal". BBC News. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Holland, Daniel (4 January 2023). "'Not a good deal' – Claims North East 'forced' into £4.2bn devolution". ChronicleLive. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "£4.2bn North East deal gets local approval | Newcastle City Council". www.newcastle.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
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