North East devolution deal reaches Parliament

The North East devolution deal has reached Parliament

Legislation that will create a mayor for north-east England has been put before Parliament.

The passage of the legislation through the Houses of Parliament is the final step which will grant devolved powers to Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham.

The new mayor will represent two million people across the North East.

Levelling Up minister Jacob Young said the deal was an "important milestone for communities across the North East".

He added: “The reason we’re so excited for this to get over the line is because a major part of levelling up is giving local people, who know their areas best, the levers and money they need to improve their areas.

"That’s exactly what this deal does – from Sedgefield to the Scottish Border – providing new decision-making powers, billions in funding and a new mayor who can champion their area on behalf of the two million who live there.”

'A transformative year'

Once the legislation is formally approved, the stage will be set for an election on 2 May for the first mayor of the North East.

The new powers will see the current North of Tyne Combined Authority (NTCA) replaced with the North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA).

The NEMCA will cover Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, Gateshead, South Tyneside, Sunderland, and Durham.

More than £6bn in funding has been announced for the 30-year devolution deal, including a £1.4bn mayoral investment fund and more than £2bn for improving transport infrastructure.

There are six candidates standing in the mayoral election. They are:

• Sitting independent North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll

• Labour’s Kim McGuinness

• Conservative Guy Renner-Thompson

• Liberal Democrat Aidan King

• The Green Party’s Andrew Gray

• Reform UK’s Paul Donaghy

In a joint statement the leaders of the seven councils and the NTCA described 2024 as a "transformative year" for the region, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

They added: "The new powers and funding we negotiated will mean important decisions about our region will be made here, in the North East."