Agenda item

Further to Minute No. 60 of the Council meeting held on 19 November 2015, the Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive which outlined the interim legal and governance requirements to establish the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Mayoral Model with devolved powers and functions agreed as part of the Devolution Deal by all of the constituent local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority in November 2015.

The Department for Communities and Local Government had confirmed that the acceptance of the draft Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Order was an executive decision.

The report included the following two appendices:

Appendix A –The proposed powers to be conferred on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Liverpool City Region Mayor which had been set out in the Governance Review and Draft Scheme on which the Combined Authority consulted with stakeholders and the public earlier in 2016; and

Appendix B –The Liverpool City Region Mayoral Combined Authority Scrutiny Principles.

The Chief Executive reported that the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Functions and Amendments Order was only received by Council Officers on Friday evening, 11 November 2016 after normal business hours and that having reviewed the Order, it is considered that further work is required to ensure that it reflects the Devolution Deal agreed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Constituent Local Authorities in November 2015. As a consequence of that, Officers had contacted the Department for Communities and Local Government and the deadline for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Constituent Local Authorities to agree the terms of the Order had been extended to 12 December 2016.

Decision Made: That

(1)       the Cabinet notes that the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Functions and Amendments Order was only received by Council Officers on Friday evening, 11 November 2016 after normal business hours. That having reviewed the Order, it is considered that further work is required to ensure that it reflects the Devolution Deal agreed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Constituent Local Authorities in November 2015;

(2)       the Cabinet requests that a further report on the Order be submitted to either the next scheduled Cabinet meeting to be held on 1 December 2016, to or an extra-ordinary Cabinet meeting on a date to be determined, if so required;

(3)       the Cabinet acknowledges that this action will not comply with the original Government timetable to lay the draft Order before Parliament after 21 November 2016, however, now understands that this has been extended to 12 December 2016; and

(4)       it be noted that the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services) had given consent under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules and Rule 46 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules for these decisions to be treated as urgent and not subject to "call in" on the basis that they cannot be reasonably deferred because the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Order will need to be laid before Parliament in December 2016 in order to have sufficient time for it to be in place for the election of the Liverpool City Region Mayor in May 2017. All of the constituent local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority need to consent to the Order before it is laid in December 2016.

Reasons for the Recommendation:

To allow officers to have further time to assess and confirm the content of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Functions and Amendments Order with Government Department Officers and ensure that it is laid before Parliament by the revised deadline of 12 December 2016, in order to have sufficient time for it to be in place for the election of the Liverpool City Region Mayor in May 2017. All of the constituent local authorities and the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority need to consent to the Order before it is laid in December 2016.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Cabinet could have consented to the orders as presented but there would be unacceptable risk that the Council’s interests would not be properly protected until the full assessment is complete.