A historic devolution deal putting greater power into the hands of local communities in Yorkshire will be signed today by the Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark. This historic moment comes as the county celebrates Yorkshire Day.

DLUHC is delivering this significant deal which will create a new combined authority across the region with a directly elected mayor enabling local leaders to better address specific needs within the region.

The mayor will have powers to invest in transport, housing, and education, and will be handed £540million by government over the next 30 years.

The devolution deal means that over half a billion pounds will be transferred from central government to York and North Yorkshire to be invested according to local priorities.

York and North Yorkshire is the first city and rural region to see devolution on the scale enjoyed by the core city regions including South and West Yorkshire.

Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark MP said:

Yorkshire Day 2022 is an historic one. It marks the return of powers and resources from London to much of the historic North Riding.

Levelling up – driving prosperity and opportunity in all parts of Britain – is done best when people locally can forge the future of their area. This deal is a big step in that direction.

The mayor will be supported by the transfer of key powers and investment from Whitehall to make the deal a reality. Key features include:

• Control of a £540 million investment fund in total over 30 years to drive growth and take forward local priorities over the longer term. This will give the mayor and local constituent councils more flexibility to decide how best to spend money on key local priorities, for example, capital infrastructure projects including transport, affordable housing and bringing forward economic development sites. It will also contribute to economic measures like skills development and supporting small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) businesses.
• New powers to improve and better integrate local transport, including the ability to introduce bus franchising, and an integrated transport settlement starting in 2024/25.
• Powers to better improve local skills to ensure these meet the needs of the local economy. This will include devolution of Adult Education functions and the core Adult Education Budget and contribute to the Local Skills Improvement Plan.
• Over £22.6m to support the building of new homes on brownfield land, deliver affordable homes, and drive green economic growth across York and North Yorkshire.
• Powers to drive the regeneration of the area and to build more affordable, more beautiful homes, including compulsory purchase powers and the ability to establish Mayoral Development Corporations.
• The mayor will take on role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Simon Clarke said:

Local leaders are best placed to know what their communities need so I’m delighted that the people of York and North Yorkshire will be able to directly elect a mayor to deliver on their priorities.

Devolution will benefit people across the region and we are committed to boosting more local areas in the same way as we level up the whole country.

The deal is the first of 13 devolution negotiations named in the Levelling Up White Paper to come to fruition. These places will benefit from the improved local leadership, continued investment, and better connectivity of local services that devolution unlocks.

Devolution deals come in addition to other Government levelling up measures in Yorkshire.

North Yorkshire County Council’s leader, Cllr Carl Les, said:

The chance to secure a host of decision-making powers as well as bringing in millions of pounds of investment for North Yorkshire is a huge opportunity to shape the future of the county for many years to come.

Whether it is improving skills and education, bringing in more investment to the region or helping improve transport links and providing much-needed affordable housing, the deal will enable us to take far greater control of our own destinies.

An elected mayor representing both York and North Yorkshire would be a powerful figure to have a seat at the table for further negotiations with the Government, bringing real and tangible benefits to the region.

Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Keith Aspden said:

This proposed deal is a significant milestone on the journey to secure devolution for York and North Yorkshire, and is undoubtedly a historic moment for our city, given the significant investment and powers this devolution deal can potentially bring to York and the wider region.

Devolution represents a real opportunity to secure significant investment and powers for York and North Yorkshire, from progressing crucial work on BioYorkshire, delivering York Central, or helping us become England’s first carbon negative region.

This proposed deal could unlock 30 years of investment to improve economic prosperity and long-term opportunities for all of our residents and businesses.

The government is already investing over £392m through 16 Town Deals to help regenerate towns across Yorkshire and over £68m to renew and reshape Yorkshire’s town centres and high streets, including Barnsley, Halifax and Northallerton.

Ten areas are benefitting from a £187m investment from the Levelling Up Fund across Yorkshire, and over £169m is also being invested in Yorkshire through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to build pride in place and spread equal opportunities.

Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark is due to sign the deal alongside the leaders of North Yorkshire County Council and the City of York today.

Further information

• Once the devolution deal is signed it will be published on Gov.uk.

A first of its kind register, designed to root out corrupt oligarchs and elites attempting to hide ill-gotten gains through UK property, has come into force today (Monday 1 August).

The Register of Overseas Entities will require anonymous foreign companies owning or seeking to buy UK land to reveal their true owners, ensuring criminals cannot hide behind secretive chains of shell companies.

The reforms will support government efforts to root out Russian oligarchs and kleptocrats using UK land to hide illicit wealth.

From today, any foreign company wishing to buy UK property will have to identify its beneficial owner and present verified information to Companies House before any application to the UK’s land registries can be made. Those overseas entities that already own land in the UK that is in scope will have a 6-month transitional period, starting today, to register their beneficial owners or managing officers.

To ensure criminals are targeted effectively, the register applies retrospectively to property bought since January 1999 in England and Wales, and since December 2014 in Scotland. Those foreign companies that do not comply with the new obligations could face severe criminal sanctions, including fines of up to £2,500 per day or a prison sentence of up to 5 years.

Business Minister Lord Callanan said:

We have been clear that the UK is a place for legitimate business only, and to ensure we are free of corrupt elites with suspicious wealth, we need to know who owns what.

By getting this first of its kind register up and running at breakneck speed, we are lifting the curtain and cracking down on those criminals attempting to hide their illicitly obtained wealth.

In addition, anti-avoidance measures mean that any overseas entity that has disposed of property since 28 February 2022 – when the legislation to create the register was first announced – will be required to provide a statement to Companies House.

Companies House Chief Executive Louise Smyth said:

The launch of this new register is a significant milestone in the history of Companies House and marks a turning point in our transformation as we look to play a much greater role in tackling economic crime. We have worked at great pace with colleagues and stakeholders across government and beyond to make this possible, and we remain committed to supporting these partners as the register is implemented.

The register was announced as part of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill in February 2022, as part of the UK’s immediate response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since Royal Assent, the government has worked rapidly alongside Companies House and the UK’s 3 land registries to get the register up and running.

It forms part of a wider package of legislative proposals to tackle illicit finance and bolster the powers of Companies House, set out in February, and which will be introduced in Parliament over the coming months. Proposals include requiring anyone setting up, running, owning or controlling a company in the UK to verify their identity with Companies House, as well as giving Companies House the power to challenge information that appears suspicious.

Kathryn Westmore, Senior Research Fellow, RUSI:

The launch of the ROE is an important and welcome step forward in the UK’s fight against dirty money. The increased transparency that it will bring should help to make the UK’s property market a much less appealing destination for stolen and corrupt wealth.

Rebecca Lee, Chief Impact Officer, OpenCorporates:

The ability to hide and spend suspect funds overseas is a large part of what makes serious corruption and organised crime possible. OpenCorporates welcomes the launch of this register as a significant step for corporate transparency and a deterrent to the use of UK property for laundering the proceeds of crime. Importantly, the Register of Overseas Entities will be openly accessible to all – allowing everyone to shine a light on its contents.

Rachel Davies Teka, Advocacy Director, Transparency International:

Transparency over the property sector is vital to help tackle criminals and the corrupt using Britain as a haven for their dirty money. This register should help start to lift the veil of secrecy over offshore companies that own real estate in the UK – a loophole that has been exploited by oligarchs and kleptocrats for too long.

Spokesperson for Spotlight on Corruption:

The launch of the overseas register is a crucial first step toward clamping down on those criminals who have been able to launder their wealth through the UK’s property market. If implemented properly and penalties for non-compliance are properly enforced, the register could be the world’s most transparent and accurate source of information on foreign ownership of property. We look forward to working with Companies House to help make the register the gold standard for other countries to follow.

• Government determined to build future legacy on the back of England’s success and increase participation for women and girls
• Comes as part of Government’s £230 million investment to build or improve 8,000 grassroots football and multi-sport facilities by 2025

Following the Lionesses’ incredible success at UEFA Women’s EURO 2022, the Culture Secretary has announced that grassroots facilities will be named after the 23 players in and around each of their respective hometowns or places that shaped their footballing careers in honour of their achievements.

As part of the Government’s £230 million investment to build or improve 8,000 grassroots football and multi-sport facilities by 2025, alongside the stipulation that they must provide access for women’s and girl’s football, the move will cement the team’s legacy for generations to come. This will support the FA’s ambition for the tournament to create half a million extra opportunities for women and girls to play football.

£25 million has already been invested over the last year in grassroots facilities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with more than 170 facilities delivered by the Football Foundation, in partnership with the Premier League and the FA.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said:

The Lionesses have enjoyed amazing success in a record breaking tournament – selling out all of their matches, with over half a million fans at games throughout the competition.

Millions of women and girls have been inspired by the team’s success and honouring their achievements will mean they leave a lasting impression at grassroots facilities across England.

The Government continues to support the growth of women’s and girl’s football and driving up participation in the sport.

Working alongside the FA, the Government is determined to achieve their ambition of equal access to football for girls in 90% of schools by 2024, and the £320 million PE and School Sports Premium School Sport and Activity Action Plan will help more girls to take part in sport and physical activity.

During the pandemic £2.9 million in grant funding was provided through the Sport Survival Package to the Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship to cover essential costs and allow the completion of their seasons. This was part of the unprecedented £1 billion package to ensure the survival of the grassroots, professional sport and leisure sectors during the pandemic. The staging of EURO 2022 has also been supported with £4.6 million.

In addition, the Government listed several high profile women’s tournaments, including the Women’s FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA Women’s EUROs as events of national significance. This means they will now have greater opportunity to be shown on free-to-air television, increasing awareness of the women’s game, providing greater commercial opportunities and inspiring more young girls to take up the sport.

It has also been announced that a review of the domestic women’s game will launch later this summer, to look at how to grow the game at elite and grassroots level. More details will be set out in the coming weeks.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The Government’s grassroots pitches investment was announced in March 2022. The next phase of projects will commence later this year.
• The Women’s FIFA World Cup, and Women’s UEFA EURO tournaments were added to the listed events regime in April 2022.
• More details on the £320 million PE and School Sport Premium can be found on gov.uk.