Cumberland Council welcomes the government’s commitment to devolving more powers and funding to local decision-makers.
We broadly support the proposal for a Cumberland Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) whilst recognising that, subject to the outcome of this consultation, there is a lot of work to be done before the Council is asked to formally consider becoming a constituent council of the MCA.
Our broad support for the proposal is based on the potential of strengthened strategic leadership on a Cumbria geography to drive inclusive economic growth to benefit all our residents and address inequalities.
It is important that government works with us to create an MCA that meets the particular needs in Cumbria and Cumberland. An MCA that works for Cumbria may be different from some established MCAs in big City Regions. A Cumbria MCA will be relatively small compared to others in terms of population – but it will be large in geography and have a significant potential to unlock economic growth.
To make devolution successful it must be supported by the required funding, powers and capacity. Early confirmation of funding to cover the costs of holding Mayoral elections, and of medium and longer-term capacity funding, would be particularly welcomed at this stage.