Andrew Turner – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2016-09-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what functions are planned to become the responsibility of the proposed Solent combined authority; what estimate he has made of the costs of each of those functions in the next (a) 12 months, (b) five years and (c) 30 years; and if he will publish all information that his Department holds on those proposed functions.

Andrew Percy

The proposals for a Solent Combined Authority have been developed by local leaders and partners in the Solent and leaders in the Solent have been undertaking a consultation to inform their proposals and gather the views of local people. Following that it will be for the local authorities to decide if they wish to propose forming a Combined Authority.

Ministers and officials have held discussions with Solent partners on what additional powers and funding could be devolved to the local area, as we have with local areas up and down the country. These discussions have not as yet reached a conclusion although I expect that if a Solent Combined Authority is proposed to government a devolution deal could be rapidly concluded.