Jim McMahon MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  It is quite usual for a county council and a district council to disagree on the way forward. From a Government point of view, we will consider proposals on an equal basis wherever they have come from—from a county council, a district council or a unitary authority that might change its boundaries. It is important that that is clear, because we want to make sure that, in the end, it is the right deal for local people, it is the right deal for taxpayers and it delivers good public services.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  It is not my intention to set one council against another. When areas begin to look at what new unitary boundaries might look like, they will need a view on identity, scale and achieving efficiency, and, ultimately, what construct will deliver good public services, be it adult social care, children’s services or those neighbourhood services that, in many places, have been eroded to the point where people wonder if they exist at all. We have to rebuild from the ground up. This process, regardless of a council’s debt or financial status, is part of that rebuilding. Let us be honest: nobody in this Chamber, or in this Government, can put a number or this. We do not know what the outcome will be. If this is genuinely about local areas self-organising and presenting to Government their view of what a good outcome would be, we need to be open about that.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  Agreeing to write off £2 billion of debt at the Dispatch Box would be quite career-limiting, I would say. I can say, however, that the scale of the financial challenge in some areas is absolutely understood and we will work to try and find a solution. We are not yet at the point of announcing that, however.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The Department stands ready to support local areas, both on devolution and on local government reorganisation, and will make sure that there is a genuine partnership when it comes to ensuring that capacity. We will not just rely on local areas to find it; we will work together on that. We will have to present the information the hon. Member refers to on another date, not today. Until we know what the final programme is, we will not know what is required to deliver it. There is no arbitrary upper limit. Nevertheless, we need to be realistic that there is a high bar on devolution and reorganisation, and we can only allow forward plans that have a credible proposal for devolution. If plans are less developed when it comes to devolution, then even if other parts of them are compelling, and do things that we would want to see come about, politically, I am afraid that cannot stand. They have to be credible plans that ultimately lead to fulfilling the ambition for devolution, and that will be the priority.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The request can come in for reorganisation, but the Government’s role from the point at which we start the statutory invitation process becomes quasi-judicial. We therefore need to make sure we steer well clear of defining what outcome we want because we are, in effect, neutral in that process. It is our job to receive proposals as they come forward, and it could well be that the county and district councils put forward entirely different proposals. It is our job to make sure we consider both on an equal basis.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I feel that we have gone a long way to doing that, although we do accept that this is a bridging position to get us to the multi-year settlement. None the less, £3.7 billion of new money for adult social care in the settlement is a commitment laid out in pounds and pence in the way that local government has been asking for. We accept that there is a long way to go, and that councils need more support, but the Government are absolutely committed to rebuilding the foundations of local government and putting it on an even keel.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I will be careful. When we came into government six months ago, I was clear that we needed to reset the relationship between central and local government. For many years in opposition, I observed Governments parading around instances of councils that were in disagreement in a very public way, and I thought that undermined the system as a whole. While it might not always be possible, where there are differences of views, they should probably be aired in private and not in Parliament, from a ministerial point of view. Even though there are differences in Lancashire about pace, potentially, and about what a good outcome might be, there is at least agreement that devolution is the right thing for the county, and that having the same powers as Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city region could be game changing for Lancashire’s economy and local jobs. When I say “local jobs”, I mean skilled, decent work that gives people pride of place; that is absolutely central to this Government. Let us focus on agreement, and put some of the disagreements to one side. However, I take on board my hon. Friend’s local perspective entirely.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  I thank the Chair of the Select Committee for those questions. What I hear from residents and even from councillors in two-tier areas is that, more often than not, local residents have no idea which council to go to in order to get the answers they need on local services. Reorganisation will provide efficiency savings in organisational costs that can be directed towards frontline services, which we believe are the priority for taxpayers. There should not simply be the cost, in many cases, of such services existing. We also believe that it is right, from a democratic accountability point of view, that residents have a clearer line of sight on which body to hold to account for local decisions. On the point about local government finance, which we absolutely understand and accept, we have worked hard and I would say we have been relatively successful on rebalancing the funding crisis in local government. We have done that by providing £5 billion of new money, taking the total allocation to £69 billion. We cannot undo 14 years of damage in six months—it has been damaging over the 14 years—but we are now bridging to that multi-year settlement where we can really begin to repair the foundations. I think we have made progress on that.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  We need to be clear that the members who will discharge the functions of the council and the executive have been elected. The idea that they are not elected is not accurate, and we need to be careful about the language that we use. I believe—I am sure the hon. Member believes—that most councillors are good public servants and go into local government for the right reasons to represent their community, and we should not be targeting them unnecessarily. To be clear, they were elected, and we might take the view that, if they meet the criteria, their period of office should be extended to allow election to a new shadow unitary authority. On that basis, I hope that local people will support it.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  We can only go as fast as the process allows. We can start the process early, and we have done that. We can give clarity early, and we are doing that. What we cannot do is to shortcut a legal process that requires adequate consultation, the development of proposals and a transfer of workforce and assets to a new unitary council. That must be done in the right way, which takes time. We absolutely understand the point about local community assets, which is why community asset protection and the community right to buy are so central to our agenda going forward.

• 15 Jan 2025 · Local Government Reorganisation · Hansard source

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  The English devolution White Paper sets out how this Government plan to deliver on our manifesto pledge to transfer power out of Westminster through devolution and to fix the foundations of local government. This Government’s long-term vision is for simpler structures, making it clearer for residents who they should look to on local issues, with more strategic decisions to unlock growth and to deliver better services for local communities. On 16 December 2024, I wrote to all councils in the remaining two-tier areas and neighbouring small unitaries to set out plans for a joint programme of devolution coupled with local government reorganisation. We acknowledge that for some areas the timing of elections affects their planning for devolution, particularly alongside reorganisation. To help to manage these demands, we will consider requests to postpone local elections, as has been the case in previous rounds. Where local elections are postponed, we will work with local areas to move elections to a new shadow unitary council as soon as possible. This is a very high bar, and rightly so. The deadline for such requests was Friday 10 January. Today, my Department has published a list of all county and unitary councils who have made requests, including those who want to delay elections from 2025 to 2026. For the avoidance of doubt, this is the list of requests; it is not the final list that will be approved. We will consider these requests carefully and postpone elections only where there is a clear commitment to delivering both reorganisation and devolution to the ambitious timetable set out. While not all areas listed will go forward to be part of the devolution priority programme, we are grateful for the local leadership shown in submitting these requests, and a decision will be made in due course as soon as possible. We welcome the large number of areas that have come forward seeking to join the devolution priority programme, reflecting our own ambition for greater coverage across England. This Labour Government were elected on a manifesto to push power out of Westminster and to relight the fires of our regions, and I am delighted that local leaders across England are sharing that ambition.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Draft Combined Authorities (Borrowing) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (Borrowing and Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I do not want to say who has the largest number of mayors, but I do not think the shadow Minister needs me to remind him that there is only one Conservative mayor in the whole country, and in the smallest combined authority, as he knows. This is not particularly about rights and wrongs, and I suggest that it would be best not to stray towards the finances in the Tees valley. As a point of principle in terms of democratic accountability, taxpayers have a right to know which elected official is spending money on their behalf and to be able to make a judgment about whether that money is used to best effect. Having that transparency is an important part of this democratic devolution project. I understand why the Opposition would want to make hay out of a precept and refer to it as a new tax; I would say the public are paying one way or the other and it is far better that it is transparent. I will leave that there. This may be straying a bit too far from the SI, but we reject entirely any suggestion that devolution or reorganisation is top-down. Today, councils across England will meet to discuss whether they want to make their own submission ahead of the deadline this Friday for local government reorganisation and/or devolution. They will decide whether it is right for them. They will decide who they want to work with and whether they want reorganisation in some places, potentially with devolution with a mayoral combined authority. Some might decide that they are not in a position to join a mayoral combined authority but want to take the first step to a foundational agreement that begins that journey. That is not top-down; that is local areas working together to self-organise, and a Government who are facilitating that devolution. In the end, if we do not get power away from this place, we will not allow every part of our country to realise its full potential. Areas will always be at the behest of the Government, and that cannot stand.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Draft Combined Authorities (Borrowing) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (Borrowing and Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Combined Authorities (Borrowing) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (Borrowing and Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 19 November 2024. They have three elements: first, the conferral of borrowing powers on the York and North Yorkshire combined authority, the North East mayoral combined authority and the East Midlands combined county authority; secondly, the conferral of the general power of competence for economic development and regeneration on the East Midlands combined county authority; and thirdly, the amending of certain parts of the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024. I will come to each of those elements in turn, but, put simply, the regulations will extend the borrowing powers of the York and North Yorkshire and North East combined authorities to apply to all their functions, and enable the East Midlands combined county authority to borrow against its functions; confer on the East Midlands combined county authority its constituent councils’ general power of competence for economic development and regeneration; and make amendments to the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024 to address typographical errors and additional operational requirements that were identified after those regulations were made. If approved by the House, the draft regulations will implement a commitment made to the three authorities in their original respective devolution deals. The regulations will match the Government’s ambition for English devolution by moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best. The extension and conferral of borrowing powers via the regulations is an important step towards empowering the authorities to invest in their local areas, giving mayors and local leaders the tools needed to stimulate their local economies and drive growth. Currently, in line with primary legislation, the York and North Yorkshire combined authority can borrow in relation to its transport, police and fire functions, and the North East mayoral combined authority can borrow against its transport functions. As a combined county authority, the East Midlands is unable to borrow against any of its functions. The regulations will allow all three authorities to borrow against any of their functions, thereby delivering on commitments made in their respective devolution deals. The three authorities and their respective constituent councils—13 in total—have consented to the regulations. The conferral of borrowing powers will bring the York and North Yorkshire combined authority, the East Midlands combined county authority and the North East mayoral combined authority in line with their existing combined authority peers, which have followed the same process for the conferral of borrowing functions. Additionally, it will bring the three authorities in line with local authorities, which are empowered to borrow for all their functions. As combined authorities and combined county authorities, the York and North Yorkshire, East Midlands and North East authorities are subject to requirements for borrowing provided for in the Local Government Act 2003. The prudential borrowing regime provides that an authority can borrow lawfully only if it can demonstrate that the servicing and repayment of its debts is affordable. This ensures that the three authorities’ proposed borrowing powers will be used appropriately. Like other areas, York and North Yorkshire, the East Midlands and the North East, as combined and combined county authorities, have a further check on their ability to borrow. Such authorities are subject to a debt cap, which must be agreed with His Majesty’s Treasury. Each agreed debt cap specifies the ceiling of the authority’s debt. I can confirm that all three authorities have successfully agreed their respective debt caps for the 2024-25 financial year, and negotiations on debt caps for the 2025-26 financial year are due to start shortly. The regulations also confer on the East Midlands combined county authority its constituent councils’ general power of competence. This power will be used only in relation to economic development and regeneration. The conferral of the power fulfils commitments that were made as part of the original east midlands devolution deal, which was agreed with all the constituent councils, and will enable the East Midlands combined county authority to support local businesses and grow the visitor economy. This was a fundamental element of the proposal submitted by the constituent councils—Derby city council, Derbyshire county council, Nottingham city council and Nottinghamshire county council—to establish the East Midlands combined county authority. The councils’ proposal makes reference to how the combined county authority will ensure that workers, businesses and local areas are supported, where possible, by schemes such as the east midlands investment fund in the delivery of key aspirations in net zero and skills. The conferral of the east midlands constituent councils’ general power of competence for economic development and regeneration will ensure that the combined authority is able to achieve its aims and deliver for the people of the east midlands. The limited conferral of the general power of competence is a new power for the East Midlands combined county authority, so the Deputy Prime Minister, in her capacity as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, must be satisfied that the statutory requirements outlined in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 have been met. I can report that the necessary statutory requirements have been considered, and the Deputy Prime Minister is content that they have been met. The Deputy Prime Minister is satisfied that the conferral of the power will improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of those who live and work in the east midlands, is in keeping with the need to secure effective and convenient local government, and reflects the interests of local communities. An appropriate consultation on the conferral of this power has also been undertaken in the east midlands. Economic development and regeneration featured as a core element of the devolution deal that was signed on 30 August 2022, and was consulted on during the statutory consultation with residents, businesses and stakeholders on the establishment of a mayoral combined county authority in the east midlands. The consultation ran from 14 November 2022 to 9 January 2023, with the public and local stakeholders expressing support for the economic development activities that the combined authority intends to undertake. When asked about policies relating to economic regeneration and development, 48% of responses were supportive, with 36% unsupportive and 16% having no opinion. The use of the function, if conferred, will be subject to the provisions of the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024, which have already been determined as securing effective and convenient local government. The combined county authority has a directly elected mayor and two members from each of its constituent councils. In the East Midlands combined county authority, decisions, including those relating to the use of the general power of competence for economic development and regeneration, are passed by a simple majority, but any such majority must include the mayor. There is an agreed mechanism for district councils to input into the combined county authority through four non-constituent members representing the views of district councils from across both two-tier areas. Other local interests are also represented through either non-constituent or associate membership of the combined county authority. There is precedent for the conferral of a combined authority’s constituent councils’ general power of competence for economic development and regeneration. Existing combined authorities, such as the West Midlands and the Liverpool city region, already have this power, which they have utilised for the purpose of economic development in supporting businesses and tourism in their areas. The East Midlands authority will similarly make use of the power for the benefit of those who live and work in its geography. The regulations will also make amendments to the East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024, which were made at pace to ensure that the East Midlands authority was established in time to hold its inaugural mayoral election on 2 May 2024. This was successfully achieved, not only ensuring that the mayoral election could take place but creating the first ever combined county authority. With the East Midlands combined county authority established, it has been possible to see how the legislation works in practice and, in discussion with the East Midlands authority, certain amendments to the 2024 regulations have been identified that are necessary to enable the authority to operate effectively and in line with its devolution deal, as originally intended. The amendments to the 2024 regulations will, first, enable non-constituent members to have voting rights in East Midlands combined county authority committees, provided that those non-constituent members have been granted voting rights by the East Midlands authority’s constituent members. Secondly, they will allow the Mayor of the East Midlands combined county authority to arrange for functions to be exercised by a committee of the combined county authority. Thirdly, they will clarify voting arrangements by specifically outlining that the mayoral budget requires a two-thirds majority. This is in line with other existing combined authorities and has been included to resolve any ambiguity, as has reference to the unanimous vote required for use of transport functions. The amendments in the regulations will also resolve a typographical error in the 2024 regulations in relation to the housing, planning and regeneration functions of the East Midlands authority. As the Committee has heard, the amendments to the 2024 regulations are of an operational nature, and will benefit the smooth running of the combined county authority by ensuring that it can function effectively and providing clarification and certainty on the use of its functions and powers. The amendments have been discussed with the East Midlands authority and its constituent councils, and both the councils and the combined authority have consented to the amendments being made. In conclusion, the regulations, which are supported locally, will continue the Government’s mission to shift powers and money from central Government to those in our regions with skin in the game. I commend the regulations to the Committee.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Draft Combined Authorities (Borrowing) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (Borrowing and Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister and wish him a happy new year in return. His were generally positive comments, with the exception of the standard view of the Mayor of London, who is obviously doing a fantastic job of delivering the Government’s missions—and long may that continue. Let me answer the shadow Minister’s questions, all of which were completely legitimate. We expect all public bodies, whether they are councils or mayoral combined authorities, to exercise their borrowing powers with the restraint that the public would expect. We expect them to borrow for a purpose and honour their borrowing commitments through the repayment schedule. That is why there is a clear mechanism in place for HMT to assess borrowing caps on an individual basis, reliant on the financial status of the local or combined authority in question. The checks and balances are robust and in place, and it may well be that the powers are not used in some places. The point is that as we move towards a new phase of devolution there has to be an assumption of trust and autonomy for local authorities to do what is right for their local communities, without them always coming cap in hand to the Government or waiting for a new Government grant scheme that they can bid into. In the end, areas will be expected to self-organise, to work with their local business community and investors, and to marshal projects for the economic wellbeing of the country. This devolution mechanism is very much about bringing the relevant areas in line with other authorities that already have those powers. We have seen mayoral combined authorities in particular making a difference to economic growth. Greater Manchester is significantly outperforming large parts of the economy elsewhere in England. That has been in large part because of the mayor’s convening role and the activity and energy of the local authorities, but also, importantly, because they have been able to team up and label different elements of funding to make schemes stack up and bring them to market so that they can be achieved. Having that role in place, with the legal powers required, is entirely what this mechanism is all about. I have a different view from the Opposition on the use of a mayoral precept. The reason for that is that every mayoral operation has a cost to it. We can all agree that we want them to be slim, efficient and nimble, but the idea that some mayors have a cost to them and some do not is frankly ridiculous. Every mayoral combined authority has an operating cost. The more that authority does, the higher that cost will be, reflecting the activity that has been undertaken. There are two ways to meet that cost. We can have a levy or a charge on the local authority, which is not particularly transparent and cannot be seen by the public. The public do not even get to see on their council tax bills how much has been spent on that function, so where is the democratic accountability? Alternatively, we can shine a light on it and say that the public have a right to know how much mayoral combined authorities cost. That should be transparent on the council tax bill, and the public, through the democratic voting process, will have the right to say whether they believe that money is being used to the best effect.

• 8 Jan 2025 · Draft Combined Authorities (Borrowing) and East Midlands Combined County Authority (Borrowing and Functions) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I am not sure that I entirely understood the question, but this SI is about new member councils joining an existing combined authority. Any member council can join, but its membership would need to be confirmed by secondary legislation, not least because in some places functions are exercised by the local authority as a member of a combined authority, rather than by the combined authority directly. The whole thing needs to be reconciled taking into account its new membership. Leicestershire has huge economic and social potential, but without devolution it will not realise its full potential and will get left behind. I do not know whether Leicestershire is making a submission on Friday, but I sincerely hope that it will. I encourage the hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members present to speak to their local authorities and encourage submissions. The regulations confirm the commitment made in devolution agreements with the York and North Yorkshire combined authority, the East Midlands combined county authority and the North East mayoral combined authority to provide them with borrowing powers against their functions. Providing borrowing powers will provide all three authorities with the opportunity to invest in their services and functions to the benefit of those who live and work in their geographies. The regulations will also ensure that the East Midlands combined county authority can operate as its devolution deal intended, by conferring the east midlands constituent councils’ general power of competence for economic development and regeneration on the combined county authority, and by ensuring that amendments are made to allow the combined county authority to operate robustly and effectively. I am confident that the regulations will give the authorities the tools to shape their futures, driving growth and higher living standards across their geographies. I commend the regulations to the Committee. Question put and agreed to.