Agenda item - Update on Devolution

26.1    Cllr Hewitt presented the slides on Devolution, key points included the structures of devolution, the roles of the Mayor, voting systems and areas of competence. The voting system will change from First Past the Post to Supplementary Voting from 2027 but not for the mayoral election in 2026. The areas of competence will enable streamlined working and strategic oversight for things such as having a local transport authority for the whole region; flexible further education offer for adults; a more tailored, localised approach to planning; the creation of local growth plans; and better coordination of net zero initiatives on a large scale such as solar farms. Health inequalities will be challenged and the Chair of the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board will be invited to be part of the informal board. The role of Police and Crime Commissioner will be abolished and become part of the remit of the Mayoral Authority, alongside the Fire Authority. Next steps include establishing the Informal Partnership Board, collaborating with East and West Sussex County Councils, appointing Programme Directors, drafting the constitution and presenting to Full Council in the autumn. Since the last meeting, it has been confirmed by the government that Sussex & Brighton have passed the tests and are ready to progress to the next stage in the devolution process.

26.2    Cllr Sykes and Mark Strong from the CVS asked questions about the political make up of the new authority and how that will be managed as there might be political tensions and conflict in decision making. Cllr Hewitt said that this is an opportunity for collaborative working between political groups and shouldn’t undermine the authority, that there might be a wider range of political parties involved and this has been managed well in other parts of the country such as Tees Valley.  

26.3    Cllr Mackey asked about the diversion of grants to the Mayoral Authority and how this will impact Brighton and Hove. Cllr Sankey said that some funding the council currently receives will move to the new authority with its new responsibilities, that over time there will be an increase in the amount of investment coming in from both the government and private investors as can be seen in the examples of Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Combined Authorities. The Mayoral Authority will also pass funding down to local councils who will retain the implementation and operational responsibilities but with a clearer strategy across the unitary boundaries.

26.4    Cllr Goddard asked about the voting system, that Supplementary Voting is more democratic and why can’t the Mayoral election in 2026 follow this voting system. Cllr Sankey agreed and said she had lobbied the government on this point.

26.5    Mark Strong said there was no mention of community groups and asked how they will feed into the Mayoral Authority. He also said that there is very little mention of climate change. Cllr Sankey said that community groups will be part of the informal partnership board and she agreed that more could be said about climate change. The government has made it clear that Mayoral Authorities will get the power in time to request further powers from government which can be tailored to that region’s particular needs. 

26.6    Geoffrey Bowden from HealthWatch asked about how this process dovetails with the South Downs National Park governance and said that the Mayoral Authority could end up with 2 port authorities. Cllr Sankey said both the South Downs National Park and the current port authorities will have representatives on the Informal Partnership Board and will be involved in the new Mayoral Authority.

26.7    RESOLVED – that Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee note the report.