Further to Minute No. 52 of the meeting held on14 November 2016, the Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive which outlined the 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 report included the following appendices:
|
Appendix 1 |
Report to Council 19 November 2015 |
|
Appendix 1A |
LCR Devolution Agreement |
|
Appendix 1B |
LCR Devolution Governance |
|
Appendix 2 |
LCRCA Scrutiny Principles |
|
Appendix 3 |
Draft LCRCA (Functions and Amendment) Order 2017 |
|
Appendix 4
Appendix 5
Appendix 6 |
LCR Devolution Deal – Powers and the exercise of those powers as contained within the LCRCA Order 2016 Letter of Commitment from Government concerning Employment and Skills powers The Combined Authorities (Overview and Scrutiny Committees, Access to Information and Audit Committees) Order 2016 |
Decision Made: That
|
(1) |
the draft LCR Order as detailed in Appendix 3 to the report which sets out the powers to be devolved to the LCRCA and directly elected Mayor be approved;
|
|
(2) |
the Chief Executive be granted delegated authority in consultation with the Leader of the Council and/or Deputy Leader of the Council to agree minor amendments with Government and subsequently to provide confirmation of Sefton Council’s formal consent to Government in respect of the LCR Order;
|
|
(3) |
the governance principles, previously agreed by the Council and LCRCA in November 2015 (as detailed in Appendix 1b to the report submitted), that will form the basis of the revised LCRCA constitution be noted and reaffirmed;
|
|
(4)
(5) |
the scrutiny principles as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report be approved and it be noted that these will be incorporated into the revised LCRCA constitution;
the assurances given as detailed in Appendix 5 to the report, in respect of employment, education and skills be noted. Should the Government fail to deliver on those assurances, then the Council shall take all actions considered necessary ,including such legal action as may be considered appropriate, to compel Government to deliver the commitments made by Government in the 2015 Devolution Deal; and
|
|
(6) |
It be noted that the proposal was a Key Decision but had not been included in the Council's Forward Plan of Key Decisions. Consequently, the Leader of the Council and the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services) had been consulted under Rule 27 of the Access to Information Procedure Rules and Rule 46 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules of the Constitution for these decisions to be treated as urgent and not subject to "call in", because to do so would result in a failure to meet the required deadline for action as the Orders have been subject to a Government timetable which only became clear in recent days.
|
Reasons for the Recommendation:
Consent is required from all local authorities to the LCR Order which will give legal status to the powers and functions agreed as part of the devolution agreement.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
None - On 19 November 2015, Council ratified (Appendix1A) the Devolution Agreement, the change to governance with a directly elected Mayor and the scope of the powers and functions to be devolved to the City Region. The report sought agreement to the final legal and governance steps required to implement that decision.
The Chair indicated that a report on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Order would be submitted to an extra-ordinary meeting of the Cabinet to be held on 8 December 2016 at 2.00pm in Bootle Town Hall.
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.