Policy paper

Addendum to the West Yorkshire devolution deal

Updated 26 March 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/west-yorkshire-devolution-deal/addendum-to-the-west-yorkshire-devolution-deal

The West Yorkshire devolution deal was agreed and announced by the Chancellor on 11 March 2020. On 29 January 2021, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Election of Mayor and Functions) Order 2021 was signed by Minister Luke Hall and came into force on 1 February 2021.

This Order, to which all the 5 West Yorkshire local authorities and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority have consented, implements the previously agreed devolution deal with certain modifications described below.

Strategic planning

The original West Yorkshire Devolution Deal agreement included conferral of the following planning powers:

  • Strategic infrastructure tariff: To allow the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to seek consent to raise a Strategic Infrastructure Tariff to allow the Combined Authority to raise funding for strategic infrastructure and operate alongside any local forms of developer contributions.

  • Strategic planning powers: To confer strategic planning powers to the Mayor to create a statutory Spatial Development Strategy for West Yorkshire which would be a matter for local agreement, in line with the National Planning Policy Framework. This, along with local plans, is to act as the framework for managing planning across West Yorkshire.

These planning powers will not be conferred at this time. Given the government’s intention to reform the planning system as set out in the Planning for the future white paper, it would not seem sensible to proceed now with the conferral to the Mayor of strategic planning powers and the power to raise a strategic infrastructure tariff powers that may be subject to significant change.

Instead, government commits to confer these powers (or any equivalent powers established through planning reform) to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority when the position is clearer, either through primary legislation or bespoke orders.

Police and Crime Commissioner functions

The original West Yorkshire devolution deal included an agreement to work towards the transfer of Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) functions to the Mayor, with a view to electing the first Mayor with these functions in 2024.

With the postponement of the 2020 PCC elections to 2021 (due to COVID-19) it was subsequently agreed that the transfer of the PCC functions would take place in May 2021.

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