North East Combined Authority – Response by Newcastle City Council Liberal Democrat Group

The Newcastle upon Tyne City Council Liberal Democrat Group recently responded to the recent proposals to create a Combined Authority in the Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear area.

The full response can be viewed on this link. A summary of the report is included below.

We support the creation of a Combined Authority for the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area. We consider that this could facilitate the improvement of:

• The provision of transport in the area and its effectiveness and efficiency,

• The provision of economic development and regeneration in the area, and

• The economic conditions in the area.

We consider that the proposed constitutional arrangements for a combined authority as set out in the Annex to the consultation paper are inadequate to ensure good governance of the combined authority, but that they are capable of improvement (and that this can be done without undue burden, cost or inefficiency).

We consider that the proposed authority and the local enterprise partnership can work together to ensure the private sector is 'hardwired' into the leadership and decision making for the functional economic area, but recommend that the arrangements in the consultation paper are adjusted to ensure a stronger voice for the business sector.