At a time when Wokingham Borough Council and many other councils face a swinging cut in their funding from central government, spending time considering regional-level Mayoral Strategic Authorities might seem like a distraction from the financial challenges that we face.
But Mayoral Strategic Authorities, far from being a distraction, might be part of the answer to our lack of money. They provide a route to resources that would otherwise be unavailable to us.
The political and corporate leadership of councils across the Thames Valley recognize this opportunity and are keen to explore how we can benefit.
For the Thames Valley to continue to contribute so impressively to the UK economy, regional infrastructure constraints – especially relating to transport links, lack of Affordable Housing, and skills shortages – need to be addressed. A Mayoral Strategic Authority is the best way to lever in the investment that can help us to address those infrastructure constraints.
To give an example: Homes England, a government agency, has been allocated some £39 billion to support the delivery of Affordable Housing schemes. While Homes England money is being committed to individual councils (we have secured some), the really big grants are being given to Mayoral Strategic Authorities, not single councils.
Mayoral Strategic Authorities also provide greater opportunities to attract inward investment by private bodies that want to engage at a regional rather than council level. That investment, as with the public money, should stimulate economic growth and therefore increase our retained business rates, which will help to ease our financial pressures.
The leaders of the Thames Valley councils – Liberal Democrat, Labour, and Conservative – view the potential prize as substantial.
We are also mindful of the government’s ambition to have all parts of England in a Mayoral Strategic Authority. We could wait and see whether ministers change their minds. But that, in my view, would be a risky course. We would be at the back of the queue when it comes to attracting resources, both public and private.
The leaders of councils in our Thames Valley region have concluded that engaging with the government is the best course, and most likely to bring the greatest benefits. They will therefore be seeking the agreement of their respective councils to proceed to the submission of an Expression of Interest in joining the government’s programme for delivering Mayoral Strategic Authorities.
An Expression of Interest would enable us to begin discussions with the government about a potential Mayoral Strategic Authority. Those discussions should give us a better sense of the scale of the benefits and the opportunity to work on proper governance arrangements to avoid a mayor encroaching on matters that are the responsibility of councils. If we still have concerns, we can decide not to proceed, at least at this stage (the risk remains that a Mayoral Strategic Authority will, sooner or later, be imposed upon us).
In my judgement, to refuse to take this first, non-binding, step would be to miss a great opportunity. We have nothing to lose and may have much to gain. That is why I hope submission of the Expression of Interest will receive cross-party support at Wokingham’s council meeting this week.
By Cllr Stephen Conway
