Question 1
Do you agree or
disagree with our proposals for the revised arrangements for the Combined
Authority, as set out above and in the Scheme, in particular the proposed
arrangements for a Mayor, Mayoral Combined
Authority, and the councils, working together?
Strongly Disagree
This is not real
devolution.
The Elected Mayor does not represent real devolution. It is
simply replacing a remote Westminster politican with a remote individual who is
supposed to represent millions of people which they cannot. When mayoral models
have been put before local people in referenda before they have rejected. Now
it is proposed to impose a Mayor on West Yorkshire without a referendum.
The Mayoral Combined
Authority – Some members are more equal than others
The proposed West Yorkshire Combined Authority will have 11
members. 5 of these members will most likely be the Leaders of the constituent
Councils. These will be Councillors who have been elected by the unfair first
past the post electoral system unlike the WYCA mayor. Having members of the
same body elected by different electoral systems is bizarre and perverse. The 3
additional members will also be Councillors elected under the first past the
post system but these places will be allocated on the basis of the number of
Councillors in political groups on the constituent councils not on the basis of
popular share of the vote. We believe that West Yorkshire should have an Assembly
like the GLA in London elected by Proportional Representation. If it is good
enough for London why not West Yorkshire?
The 3 additional constituent council members on the Mayoral
Combined Authority appointed for political balance should be referred to as
“Second Class Members” as their support is not required to pass the Mayor’s
Spatial Development Strategy, the designation of land for a Mayoral Combined
Authority Area, the compulsory purchase of land, decisions that could incur a
financial liability on a constituent council or any matter pertaining to the
Mayoral Combined Authority’s Constitution. Using the same logic the 5 members
appointed by each constituent Council should be referred to as “Premier Class
Members” as their support is required to approve the above matters.
All Councillors need
to be represented on the Mayoral Combined Authority
Over 8% of elected Councillors in West Yorkshire are from
parties other than Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats. All these
Councillors are members of the LGA Independent Group. Current proposals would
mean that these Councillors and the communities they represent would have no
representation at all on the Mayoral Combined Authority. Provision should be
made on the board to represent all groupings represented by LGA Political
Groups including the LGA Independent Group which consists of Independent and
Green Party Councillors. We propose an additional member for political balance
to ensure Councillors who are members of the LGA Independent Group, and
therefore the people who vote for them, are represented.
The proposals for 2
Deputy Mayors are undemocratic
The proposal for the Mayor to be able to simply appoint a 2
Paid Deputies is undemocratic and will most likely be given to ‘Party worthies’
as a form of patronage. If it follows the model of the West Yorkshire Police
and Crime Commissioner the Deputy Mayors positions will attract an allowance of
at least £50’000/year with no democratic mandate. The Leader of Kirklees
Council has stated at a Kirklees Scrutiny meeting that a Deputy Mayor position
will be taken by a Leader of one of the Constituent Councils. There is no
reference to this in the Governance Review.
Mayoral Compulsory
Purchase and Development Area powers should need approval of a meeting of the
constituent Full Council
The Mayor will have the power to compulsory purchase land
within each Combined Authority area and set up Mayoral Development areas.
Before any of these powers are put into effect they should require the approval
of a vote in Full Council in the constituent Council affected.
As with the Compulsory Purchase powers we strongly believe
that proposals to establish a Mayoral Development area should also require Full
Council approval.
Do you support or
oppose this proposal to confer transport functions and new transport related
functions to a West Yorkshire Mayor and mayoral combined authority?
Disagree
Additional Transport
funding should simply be passed down to each Constitutent Council
Government should simply devolve the additional funding for
transport related functions to Local Authorities anyway without requiring the
establishment of a new undemocratic Mayoral Authority.
Transport funding
should not be used to support higher carbon emissions
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is currently proposing
the use of funding for transport functions to support the expansion of Leeds
Bradford Airport. This is inconsistent with the Zero Carbon Agenda the
Authority is currently signed up to. We would need a commitment from the
Mayoral Combined Authority to not fund transport projects that increase carbon
emissions when we should be reducing them.
The Key Route Network proposed could involve the
establishment of new roads encouraging car use and destroying valued green
corridors. This would also be inconsistent with WYCA’s commitment to have a zero
carbon economy by 2038.
Do you support or
oppose this proposal to confer skills and employment functions to a West
Yorkshire mayoral combined authority?
Neither agree nor
disagree
The important thing to recognise here is that this is not
new money and the Mayoral Combined Authority will have no control over the
amount of money invested in West Yorkshire for skills and employment functions.
We strongly believe that the funding that is passed down
from central government should play a key role in supporting the skills needed
for the Zero Carbon Economy Agenda.
Question 4
Do you support or
oppose this proposal to confer housing and planning functions to a West
Yorkshire Mayor and mayoral combined authority?
Disagree
Planning decisions
should be taken at a local level
We believe that planning decisions are best taken at a local
level not by a remote Mayoral Combined Authority and as such we would want any
planning decisions to require the support of the Planning Authority of the
relevant constituent Council and be put before them for debate and decision.
The Mayoral Combined
Authority should be able to suspend the ‘Right to Buy’
One function we would like devolved to a local level is the
power to suspend the Right to Buy scheme. We have seen a massive reduction in
Council Housing at a time of high demand for income particularly for the
millions left behind in the policy push over the last 40 years towards home
ownership. Not everybody can own a home and we need a secure affordable option
for the millions who cannot. Suspending
or preferably abolishing the Right to Buy would boost the business case for
Councils wanting to build new affordable homes.
The power we need is
to insist on higher energy efficiency standards for buildings
The Mayor will not have powers to insist on higher building
standards in the region such as Passivhaus for all new build. This would be
compatible with WYCA’s stated commitment to a Zero Carbon Economy by 2038 but
is a power that we won’t have.
We need a 2030 Target
for the West Yorkshire Zero Carbon Economy
We strongly believe that the Mayoral Combined Authority
should set a new, more ambitious target for a Zero Carbon Economy by 2030 in
line with report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change Repor . This would help support our argument for stronger housing and
planning policies either at the local or regional level.
Question 5
Do you support or
oppose this proposal to confer Police and Crime Commissioner functions to a
West Yorkshire Mayor?
Strongly oppose
Police and Crime
functions are even more unaccountable under the Mayoral Combined Authority.
The abolition of the Police and Crime Commissioner role is a
positive in that it is a role that has not excited interested the electorate
and takes away from rather than adds to local democratic accountability of the
Police. The appointment of a highly paid unelected Deputy Mayor to lead on the
Policing function however just makes matters worse and will undoubtedly put an
unelected politician in a role where the people scrutinising them will have a
democratic mandate (albeit through FPTP) but they will not.
Do you support or
oppose this proposal to confer additional finance functions on a West Yorkshire
Mayor and mayoral combined authority?
Strongly oppose
No taxation without
adequate representation and scrutiny.
Our opposition to these additional powers is due to the lack
of a suitable democratic mandate as we have detailed in our answer to question
1 and the lack of suitable scrutiny and powers to limit the powers of the Mayor
by a democratically elected Assembly.
The power to charge a precept for policing would mean that
the funding gained could be the responsibility of an unelected functionary.
Question 7
Are there any
comments you would like to make that you do not feel you have addressed in your
response?
What about the
challenge of Climate Change?
The West Yorkshire Authorities Governance Review document
highlights the major challenges to the sub region. It includes growth,
productivity, diversity, innovation and trade but Climate Change is not
identified as a challenge bizarrely. The self-declared target of having a Zero
Carbon Economy in just 18 years time is a significant challenge but it is
concerning that it has not been included here. For the record the Green Party
believes that our target should be 2030 not 2038 in line with the evidence from
climate scientists.
What about a
resilient economy?
Another significant challenge highlighted by the COVID19
crisis is the need for a resilient economy that is less affected by global
factors such as international trade, the money markets and financial speculation.
A more resilient economy would have an emphasis on local
production for local need, more locally owned and managed businesses trading with
each other ensuring money remains within the regional economy. This is not
identified as a significant challenge and therefore cannot be regarded as a
priority by the Mayoral Combined Authority. This is a major weakness in the
Governance Review Document
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