We will certainly want to consider that issue. Reading what has been said, and the written statement that was presented to the House on the first day back after the recess, there does not seem to be a commitment simply to leave the amount of business rates collected in an area with that local authority. Instead there was a move to allow the full retention of the growth of business rates, and then a decision about what to do with the rest. I think that is the position, but Ministers will have to explain it further in due course. I am sure that the Committee will want to explore that.
The Minister and I have slightly different views about whether elected mayors should be a requirement for full devolution, but the Minister won the vote and that measure is back in the Bill. I am still concerned to have a level playing field, however, and I am surprised about one element in the Bill that Ministers have not sought to explain. Amendment 60 would delete from clause 5(1)(7) words that would devolve to a mayor who is exercising powers independently, any powers that are
“similar to any power exercisable by the mayoral combined authority…but the power conferred on the mayor may not include a power to borrow money.”
When a combined authority is set up, it can have the power to borrow money. In the Sheffield city region, the combined authority has to borrow money for the functions of economic development, skills and matters devolved to it. The mayor will effectively become the transport authority and exercise transport functions. In exercising those functions, however, the mayor will not be able to borrow money. Somebody else will have to do that if, for example, a new tram system is going to be developed. The mayor will have to go to somebody else and say, “Will you borrow money for me?”
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Is that not a very odd situation? The Government have been arguing very strongly—the Minister has made the case—that we need clear accountability and strong leadership, and that we can only have that through
elected mayors. That has been the Government’s line right the way through, but these strong mayors—these solely accountable people who are essential to making this form of governance work—will not be able to borrow the money to deliver the functions they are given. Why? It is not as if I am arguing, with the amendment, that Ministers have to give borrowing powers to the mayor, but the Bill actually prevents the Government from being allowed to give borrowing powers to a mayor. Is that not very strange for an enabling Bill? The Ministers have disabled themselves from doing something that seems fairly fundamental to the powers of a mayor. Can someone explain that? I cannot. It really is quite a strange situation for the Government to have got themselves into.
I tabled a very simple amendment to take those lines out. It will not force Ministers to do anything; it will simply allow them to come to deals with the combined authorities on how mayors should be able to exercise properly the functions they are given. The Minister might like to at least reflect on the fact that this is a sensible amendment.
I return to the comments made by the hon. Member for Carlisle (John Stevenson). His is a probing amendment, but it is probing in a very effective way. There is a problem: consent for one person is veto for somebody else. That is also a problem in proposed new subsection (3) in clause 15(3), which relates to authorities that have to give their consent for a combined authority to operate, including a district council or
“a county council the whole or any part of whose area is within the area”.
What if four Derbyshire districts decide they want to join and have their transport powers exercised by the combined authority of the Sheffield city region, which is a natural travel to work area—they are all working together on a joint basis at present—and Derbyshire County Council says no?
This is a point I raised earlier. Ministers have to give some thought to the challenges this will pose in areas where there are currently districts in counties. I give great credit to the Government, because both the LEPs and the devolution proposals they are working towards have no regard to the old regions, which were administrative conveniences, but Sheffield has little connection with Whitby, even though we are both in what was the Yorkshire region. We have a lot of connections with Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire, Bolsover, Derbyshire Dales and Bassetlaw. They are part of our travel to work area, along with Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. We are part of the same economic entity. To have a Bill that enables a veto on the development of a proper economic policy for a proper economic area is a concern. I am raising this point again and the hon. Member for Carlisle has raised it in a different context. It is a problem. I hope the Ministers will help us to sort it out.