Delivering on his commitment to meet with the Northern Combined Authority Mayors, David Davis has today held discussions with Andy Burnham, Steve Rotherham and Ben Houchen about the region’s priorities for EU exit.

The Secretary of State was joined by Minister Steve Baker who will lead on future engagement with the English regions during negotiations with the EU. This reaffirms the Government’s commitment to work with all regions to ensure that we secure a deal that works for every part of the UK.

Today’s meeting in York gave Ministers an opportunity to update the Mayors on the progress of negotiations. It also enabled the group to discuss future trading relationships with the EU, the new UK immigration policy and the future of European structural funding.

Speaking after the meeting, Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis, said:

As we continue to make decisive steps towards our exit, we are committed to bringing all of the UK with us – ensuring that every region is able to flourish.

The Combined Authorities play a crucial role in representing the priorities of our regions which is why I’m pleased that we are continuing to build a productive relationship with their Mayors since their election in May.

We will continue working closely with them to understand the potential challenges and opportunities that leaving the EU presents to each of the regions, building on the productive meeting we have held in York today.

Minister for Exiting the EU, Steve Baker said:

With our negotiations well underway, delivering a deal that works for every part of the UK remains our priority. Meetings such as these are hugely important to ensure we do just that.

Today has been informative and constructive and I am looking forward to maintaining this engagement with the Combined Authority Mayors in the coming months.

Today’s meeting follows the Prime Minister’s recent speech in Florence and the fourth round of negotiations in Brussels. It also follows two recent regional tours by Minister Steve Baker – to the North East and Cornwall – as part of the Government’s continued business engagement programme.

The government has this week set out details of its £80 million programme to introduce smart ticketing across England and Wales by the end of 2018.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said:

Passengers across the country want smart ticketing and this government will deliver it.

This significant investment will ensure that passengers across the network can use mobile phones, bar codes and smart cards across almost all of the network by the end of next year.

The £80 million investment will ensure:

• every passenger will have the choice of travelling without a paper ticket by the end of 2018
• mobile barcode ticketing will be rolled-out on every rail franchise in Great Britain
• passengers will be able to have smart cards hosted on their mobile phone – like a digital travel card – with a pilot of this technology expected in the next 4 months

The Department for Transport is also working on plans with the Rail Delivery Group to bring forward the next generation of ticketing systems to give passengers more tailored options to pay for their travel, saving them money and offering better value deals.

The investment will quickly deliver benefits to passengers across the country. Discussions with train companies about the introduction of mobile phone smart cards are at an advanced stage, with deals soon to be reached with 3 operators. This will mean that both mobile phone smart cards and mobile barcode tickets will soon be accepted by every operator in England and Wales and be interoperable across different franchises.

In addition, pay-as-you-go travel is being rolled-out extensively across the rail network, including with the introduction of KeyGo – a contactless travel card – by Govia Thameslink Railway. The KeyGo system allows passengers to use their card to tap in and tap out across virtually the entire Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern networks, from Cambridge to Brighton, and automatically be charged the most appropriate fare for their journey. Other train operators are soon to follow, with tests happening shortly on South Western Railway, c2c and Greater Anglia.

The sea wall at Walton on the Naze helps to protect a wetland site of designated international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

The repair work will ensure the wall remains an effective flood defence for years to come and prevent any further deterioration.

Starting later this month, a section of the tidal defence embankment will be refurbished over a 3 month period. The project will see the renovation of a 1.7 kilometre stretch of the embankment, running north up the coast from Foundry Lane.

The work is being carried out by civil engineering contractors Breheny and will take place on the crest and seaward sides of the embankment.

Work is due to begin in the week commencing 9 October 2017 and normal working hours will be from 7:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Kerry Bentley, Asset Performance Officer for the Environment Agency, said:

This is very important work and will ensure the sea wall can continue to provide an effective level of protection in the area for years to come.

The damaged sections of existing sea wall will be removed and new sections will be added.

The old blocks will be placed at the toe of the sea wall as habitat and to help reduce wave impact.

In order to ensure the safe delivery of these works we will need to redirect short sections of the footpath to the rear of the wall.