Lincolnshire County Council backs devolution deal – with the public to have their say next week

Lincolnshire is a step closer to having a mayor after county councillors have backed a devolution deal – and the public be able to have their say next week.

Members of Lincolnshire County Council have this morning approved the deal which was announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week – days after leaders signed the agreement with Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Jacob Young.

The county council has been working on the deal with the unitary authorities in north and north east Lincolnshire on the deal – claimed to equate to an additional £50million a year for the region. But the deal has come under fire for being rushed and unwanted.

North East Lincolnshire Council approved the deal last night with members of North Lincolnshire council set to debate the deal on Monday.

People in Greater Lincolnshire will be able to comment on the deal when an eight-week consultation starts on Monday.

County council’s leader Coun Martin Hill said: “This is an important day for the council and the county. We have negotiated an ambitious deal with the government that will bring benefits to our residents for years to come, making sure we don’t get left behind. I hope that residents will take the time to understand what’s on offer and give their views as part of the consultation.

“This is our opportunity to take more decisions locally, boost our economy and have a direct line to government about what we need in our area.”

Supporters say the deal would move important funding and choices about local investment, infrastructure and training from Government to local decision makers – while others say it does not make up for a decade of under-funding.

The county council says the deal with bring:

• A Mayoral Investment Fund of £24 million per annum for 30 years to invest in infrastructure and skills development totalling £720m;
• A one off £28.4m capital investment in Greater Lincolnshire’s priorities;
• £2m capacity funding over three years;
• £1m skills for job funding;
• Local control over the Adult Education Budget from 2026;
• A consolidated, multi-year transport fund, providing increased financial certainty.

Following the consultation, further formal meetings will take place to assess the consultation results and put a recommendation to the Government.

If a decision is taken to move forward, a Mayoral Combined County Authority would be formed with the election for a Mayor in May 2025.

South Lincolnshire Green Party has opposed the ‘imposition of a mayor on Lincolnshire’.

Martin Blake, joint co-ordinator for the South Holland area, said: “This is a scheme cooked up by a small number of senior Conservatives in the county, not one for which there is any evidence of public support.

“It will impose a further layer of bureaucracy as there are no plans, as far as we can tell, to reduce the number of local authorities in the county.

“Greens believe that decisions should be taken as close as possible to the people they affect, and this moves us in completely the opposite direction. Who will the mayor be answerable to? How much of the promised additional £24m per year (assuming it even materialises) will be swallowed up by the additional administration, rents and salaries which will be the inevitable result? It’s in any case a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of millions of pounds which this Government has withheld from Lincolnshire councils since 2010.

“Trust in local government is already at a low level, as evidenced by the painfully low turnout in elections, including for the existing county-wide Police and Crime Commissioner. The imposition of a mayor on our county risks putting the final nail in the coffin.”

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