Agenda item

A.          Sheffield City Region Combined Authority held on 11th and 18th September, and 30th October, 2017.

B.     Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board held on 11th September, 2017.

C.         South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority held on 18th September and 16th October, 2017.

D.     Sheffield City Region Combined Authority/South Yorkshire Pensions Authority Joint Local Pension Board held on 5th October, 2017.

E.     South Yorkshire Pensions Authority held on 5th October, 2017.

F.     South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel held on 29th September and 9th November, 2017.

In noting the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Sheffield City Region (SCR) Combined Authority on 18th September, 2017, where the powers of a future SCR Mayor was discussed, Councillor Phil Cole commended Mayor Ros Jones and Councillor Sir Steve Houghton who had voted against some of the proposals put forward which had subsequently fallen at the meeting.  Councillor Cole noted that at that meeting and the minutes of 30th October, a majority of Councillors that were represented at those meetings had no vote.  He highlighted to Members that legally, they had no status and had no voting powers within the SCR.  Therefore, there were only four Council Leaders who had ‘any say’.

In view of the fragmentation of the SCR in the last six months and now with the overwhelming mandate from both Barnsley and Doncaster voters for a Yorkshire Wide Devolution process, Councillor Cole asked Mayor Ros Jones whether she would consider writing to the Minister asking him to scrap the scheduled elections for a South Yorkshire Mayor, which Councillor Cole believed was a pointless and futile exercise, given the overwhelming support from Authorities for a Yorkshire Wide Devolution deal.

Mayor Ros Jones referred to a question asked by an Elected Member earlier in the meeting and stated that she would welcome a letter from the Secretary of State.  She added that the Council would want to meet with the Secretary of State to take forward the Council’s mandate; the ultimate aim was to be part of the widest possible Sheffield Devolution deal.  The Mayor asked everyone in the Chamber to work together to bring this about.  However, she pointed out that she did not believe an open forum was the place for having a debate on what happened which would ‘tie the Council’s hands’.  The Mayor reiterated that the Council now needed to work with the Secretary of State to bring about the Council’s ultimate aim which was for the widest possible Devolution deal for Doncaster.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the following Joint Authorities, be noted:-

A.        Sheffield City Region Combined Authority held on 11th and 18th September, and 30th October, 2017.

B.        Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Board held on 11th September, 2017.

C.        South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority held on 18th September and 16th October, 2017.

D.        Sheffield City Region Combined Authority/South Yorkshire Pensions Authority Joint Local Pension Board held on 5th October, 2017.

E.        South Yorkshire Pensions Authority held on 5th October, 2017.

F.         South Yorkshire Police and Crime Panel held on 29th September and 9th November, 2017.