31 March 2010
Greater Manchester is set to become the country’s first ‘combined authority’, Communities Secretary John Denham has announced.
The proposals, issued for consultation today, bring together the ten councils that make up the Greater Manchester conurbation into a new ‘corporate entity’, able to exercise greater control over housing, climate change policy, transport and skills.
Denham said the new body would allow the local leaders to take ‘effective and co-ordinated control’ of the city-region’s economic recovery and grasp new opportunities for growth as they emerge.
‘The people of Greater Manchester live, work and study across local authority boundaries and councils need to work closely together on local needs and priorities across the whole city-region, from transport links to jobs to affordable housing,’ he said.
Today’s announcement takes forward an agreement on new powers for the city. Last December, the government and Greater Manchester councils signed the Greater Manchester City-Region Agreement, which included reforms to give the city greater control over economic development and regeneration.
The consultation suggests that each of the ten Greater Manchester councils appoint one elected member to be part of the new combined authority. Each year these members would elect a chair and vice-chair from among their number.
The consultation on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority closes on July 14.
The consultation document is on the Departmentfor Communities and Local Government website
