Cambridgeshire and Peterborough takes step towards top tier of devolution powers

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough takes step towards top tier of devolution powers

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority’s board has approved making a formal application to Government for the highest tier of devolution powers.  

Established Mayoral Strategic Authority (EMSA) status would give the Combined Authority access to the broadest range of devolved powers under the new English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act. This status would open up access to an integrated settlement, which is a block funding deal with Government giving certainty and flexibility over many years on how existing funding is used to meet local priorities. 

Better funding and more powers would enable the Combined Authority to further improve local transport, infrastructure, skills, and housing delivery to support Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow’s ambition to triple the size of the economy by 2050. The ‘right to request’ further devolution powers for the region, which would come as part of EMSA status, would also support the ambition of local growth.  

Paul Bristow will now write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to explain how the Combined Authority meets the eligibility criteria for the status and how it will help deliver the economic targets set in the Local Growth Plan. The Combined Authority Board agreed making the application for EMSA status at its meeting today (July 15). 

The application will also set out evidence of delivery required by Government by referencing three major programmes. The Combined Authority’s successful Government Gateway Review this summer, which unlocked £100m of funding, is a strong endorsement from Government that the Combined Authority is meeting high standards of delivery and further strengthens the application. 

ARU Peterborough is an example of the Combined Authority’s ability to deliver. Opening in 2022 and breaking down barriers to accessing higher education in Peterborough and surrounding areas, the Combined Authority worked with ARU and the city council to deliver an employment-focused university which had been a long-held ambition for the city.  

Paul Bristow said: “EMSA status will be a huge step forward for the Combined Authority. It will give us greater powers to deliver for the communities which we serve, to make better decisions locally and give us the power to drive local growth.  

“Growing the economy is at the heart of my Local Growth Plan, which aims to make residents healthier, wealthier and happier, and this will help us deliver on that.”