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West of England Combined Authority

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Houses
  
Unicameral

Founded
  
9 February 2017

Term limits
  
None

Mayor of the West of England
  
TBD

West of England Combined Authority

Type
  
Combined authority of West of England

Interim chair
  
Matthew Riddle, Conservative

The West of England Combined Authority is a combined authority for the West of England area, consisting of the local authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The original proposal was to cover the same area as the County of Avon which came into formal existence on 1 April 1974 and was abolished in 1996. In June 2016 North Somerset council rejected the proposal. Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils agreed to progress with the proposal.

Contents

The combined authority will be led by the Mayor of the West of England, with the first election in May 2017. The government's vision is to create a "Western Powerhouse" analogous to the government's Northern Powerhouse concept. The proposal could bring nearly £1 billion of investment to the region.

The West of England Combined Authority Order 2017 came into force on 9 February 2017. The first public meeting of the combined authority took place on 1 March 2016 with an interim chair.

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the mayor and combined authority will be:

  • Responsibility for a consolidated, devolved local transport budget, with a multi-year settlement.
  • The ability to franchise bus services, subject to necessary legislation and local consultation, which will support the Combined Authority’s delivery of smart and integrated ticketing.
  • Responsibility for a new Key Route Network of local authority roads that will be managed and maintained by the Combined Authority on behalf of the Mayor.
  • Powers over strategic planning, including to adopt a statutory spatial development strategy which will act as the framework for managing planning across the West of England region.
  • Control of a new additional £30 million a year funding allocation over 30 years, to be invested in the West of England Single Investment Fund, to boost growth.
  • Responsibility for the 19+ Adult Education Budget, which will be devolved from academic year 2018/19.

    • Cabinet

    The membership of the combined authority cabinet shall be as follows:

    † Matthew Riddle was chosen to be interim chair of the combined authority until the first elected mayor takes office on 8 May 2017. Marvin Rees was chosen to be vice-chair.

    Local government

    The West of England consists of the following unitary authorities:

    References

    West of England Combined Authority Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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