?1.4bn devolution deal for north-east England announced

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A ?1.4bn devolution deal for the north-east of England would bring seven local authority areas under the control of an elected mayor in 2024, Michael Gove has announced.

The levelling-up secretary set out the ?48m-a-year deal for Northumberland, Durham, Newcastle, South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland on Wednesday after months of negotiations over the new devolved area covering 2 million people.

Council leaders agreed the deal with the Department for Levelling Up after Durham made a late bid to be included this autumn.

It is the sixth such deal to be struck this year – the others involved York and North Yorkshire, the East Midlands, Cornwall, Norfolk and Suffolk – with Tory ministers attempting to sign off agreements to help with their commitment to levelling up.

The agenda was begun by Boris Johnson as he sought to hold seats in “red wall” where that the Conservatives took MPs from Labour in 2019.

However, critics say not much progress has been made towards levelling up across the country since then, and that regional divides are getting worse.

The deal for the north-east will involve new funding of about ?48m a year over a 30-year period – plus a ?563m transport budget and a substantial budget for adult education and skills.

The new North East Mayoral Combined Authority authority will also have powers to build affordable homes on brownfield sites. A new mayor will be elected in 2024 if approved following local consultation.

Gove said he was “proud to have agreed a historic new devolution deal with the north-east that gives local leaders more power, more money, and an even greater say on how their areas are run”.

“Devolution is all about letting leaders who live and breathe the region decide what is in their best interests, for their people and for their businesses,” he added.

The new authority would replace the existing north of Tyne authority and mayor, as well as the non-mayoral north-east combined authority, encompassing the whole Tyne and Wear, as well as Northumberland and Durham.

The changes will now be have to be agreed more widely, including through local consultation and parliamentary approval.

Local leaders and mayors across the seven existing north-east authorities welcomed the news, saying: “This is a significant step towards securing important decision-making powers and investment for our region. This would allow us to make decisions that reflect local needs and invest wisely into projects that will make a difference for all our residents, communities and local economy.

“There remains a process for all councils and combined authorities to consider the details and a public consultation before a final decision is made.

“We are pleased that we have successfully negotiated a proposed deal which is a step towards reaching our ambition for this region. This is an important milestone in our journey and we will now engage with stakeholders to move the deal to the next stage.”

The existing authorities are controlled by a mixture of political parties but dominated by Labour. South Tyneside, North Tyneside, Sunderland, Newcastle and Gateshead are Labour-led areas, while Northumberland is held by the Conservatives. Durham is under no overall control, governed by a coalition of Lib Dems, Tories and independents, even though Labour is the largest group.

Alex Norris, Labour’s shadow levelling-up minister, said the government’s levelling-up plans were lacking in ambition. “Many people in the north-east will welcome some further say and control in their area. But it appears that ministers have already rowed back on the original promise of ?3bn in new funding as part of the deal for the north-east.

“The huge potential of Britain is being held back by this Tory government’s lack of ambition for the country, cherry-picking the places for devolution deals, short-changing communities on past promises, and holding back the real powers and investment at the centre.”