FURTHER plans for the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) have been submitted to Government.
The shadow board of the WMCA has sent its final Scheme and Governance Review to Westminster, setting out its proposed membership, geography, funding, powers, duties and management arrangements.
The document also looks specifically at the justification for creating a combined authority and whether consitutent members – Solihull, Coventry, Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton local authorities – and other non-constituent members including district councils and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) would benefit from the creation of a Combined Authority.
The Government will now review the submission to assess whether it meets statutory tests before an order is created.
After that, Greg Clarke’s office at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will run an eight week consultation before both houses of Parliament discuss the Scheme and Governance Review.
Once approved, the Secretary of State will confirm a formal date of establishment – the earliest being April 2016.
Describing this as ‘an exciting time’ for the West Midlands, Councillor Bob Sleigh, Chair of the WMCA Shadow Board, said: “Fifteen members are now signed up to the emerging West Midlands Combined Authority and are committed to working together to build a stronger economy and better public services with new jobs, better skills, more housing and quicker transport links that will benefit local people and businesses throughout the region.
“We have worked hard to deliver our Scheme and Governance Review to government who will now follow its procedures around review and consultation.
“This is not a quick process and nor should it be.
“However, it is another important step forward for the Combined Authority, a step to legitimising us as a governing body.”
