The Chair, Deputy Chair and the Board of the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (HEY LEP) have welcomed the announcement in the Chancellor’s autumn statement that the Hull and East Yorkshire region are to be awarded a Level 3 mayoral devolution deal.
The proposed deal, announced on Wednesday 22 November, when implemented in 2025, would bring huge economic and social benefits to all the residents and businesses in the region.
This will allow this region to compete on equal terms for funding and investment with all the other mayoral regions in the north and Midlands, such as Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire.
Through this deal and the election of a regional mayor, a number of important powers and decisions on funding will be devolved from Whitehall to the mayor, alongside local political leaders of both Hull and East Riding councils.
This includes powers and funding over transport and adult education, both areas where this region has been lagging behind others in the north.
The deal will enable to regional mayor to lead the economic strategy of the region, working closely with elected politicians, the private sector and other regional organisations, who will, for the first time, have much more influence on how the region’s economy is developed, and funding allocated.
The HEY LEP and its predecessor, the Humber LEP, has been leading regional economic strategy and delivery for the last 12 years on a number of key economic activities, such as skills, employment, business support and inward investment.
The proposed regional mayoral structure will allow all these vital activities to be integrated and preserved efficiently and seamlessly.
Chair of HEY LEP, James Newman OBE, said: “This news is a huge step forward for the economic prospects of the region.
“The mayor, when elected, will bring together the private, public, academic and voluntary sectors into a robust and effective partnership for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, studies, and invests into the region.
“For the first time in decades, the political leaders in the region have had the courage to work together, despite their political differences, for the benefit of the economy and the future of its residents.
“All businesses and everyone living in the region should applaud and unite behind the two council leaders and support their efforts to finalise negotiations with the government as quickly as possible.
“The mayor will be the catalyst to bring together and capitalise on what is so good about the region, whether it be the heavy industrial and manufacturing businesses in Hull or the small retailer, rural or tourist businesses in East Riding.
“Potential investors into the region will have increased confidence that this region, the UK leader in net zero technology and assets, will be a good place to invest in and provide the jobs the region so desperately needs.
“This is a momentous day for the region, a new economic dawn, which we cannot allow to fade.”
James Newman OBE, chair of HEY LEP