A political power struggle over who controls up to £600million of investment in the region is putting the entire money at risk, the leaders of four councils were warned. The men in charge of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset unitary authorities have agreed to rip up and rewrite the rules governing the West of England joint committee to give them greater say over its funding decisions.
The proposed changes, to be finalised by June, include ousting metro mayor Dan Norris as committee chairman amid “frustration” that the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which he heads, is developing proposals without seeking sufficient input from the councils. But the four local authority leaders, who sit with Mr Norris on the joint committee to oversee how various regional funding streams that pre-date Weca’s creation should be spent, were warned they could lose the lot, including a 25-year, £500million Economic Development Fund (EDF) for jobs infrastructure.
Weca chief executive Patricia Greer told them at a meeting on Friday, April 8, that their plans to simply change the committee’s rules, officially called standing orders, would breach an assurance agreement with the government setting out strict guidelines on the effective use of public money. However, the council leaders dismissed her concerns as a “red herring”, insisting no final decisions were being made, and voted to dissolve the current arrangements.
